Author one, Adriano Adewale, was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. After graduating from his bachelor studies in Brazil, Adriano moved to London where he completed a master's degree and is currently studying and lecturing in Finland. As part of his journey, Adriano travelled to Nigeria and Benin Republic seeking his roots in Africa. This process has transformed his life and revealed the importance of tradition, as well as the impact of the Eurocentric concept of music on Adriano’s identity. Author two, Nathan Riki Thomson was born and raised in Australia to parents from Aotearoa, New Zealand. As an Australian with ancestry from Scotland and England, Nathan was born on land traditionally owned by the indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Nathan acknowledges the traditional owners of the region he was born in, the Yugambeh speaking peoples, part of the Bundjalung Nation, and pays respects to their elders’ past, present, and emerging.
The effects of colonialism are a connecting thread in the experiences of both authors and have impacted them in different ways, which becomes the driving force for developing a decolonial framework for our artistic work and research. For Adriano, the colonial history of his home country, Brazil, has spread over different areas of life and the aspirations of that society are modelled by European aesthetics and values. In terms of education, it means the focus was, and still is to a certain extent, on understanding Western traditions as universal and prioritizing them over any other influences from the people who also form the matrix of that nation, including the indigenous people and the people originating from various parts of Africa, for example. Musically speaking, it means Adriano had no access to formal education where he could study African Brazilian musical traditions. Adriano had to study Western classical music, and although this was a good learning process, it missed the central point of being able to express himself from within his own tradition. This aspect was simply denied and although things are slowly changing, there is still much to be done.
At a similar time in another region of the world, Nathan was initially trained in Australia as a Western classical flutist and jazz double bass player, with Western classical music and jazz being the only study programme options available within higher education institutions at that time (1990-1993). The Eurocentric education Nathan was offered raised confusing and difficult questions for him as a young musician. Nathan grappled with the colonial history of the institution he was studying in and questioned the European classical canon that was offered as the dominant musical reference and focus of the studies. Furthermore, why were other cultures and forms of musical expression not represented within the higher education system in Australia at that time, and why were the voices of first nations peoples not present? These questions were instrumental in setting Nathan off on a path of seeking active dialogue and collaboration with musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, which has included extensive travelling and living in Tanzania, Zambia, the UK, and Finland. It should be acknowledged that much progress has been made since the 1990’s in terms of diversity, inclusion, and representation with the education system in Australia. However, as Adriano points out within the Brazilian context, there is still much to be done in Australia and indeed globally. At the time of writing, Nathan’s working life is made up of interconnected areas as a performer, composer, researcher, and educator, with a core focus on developing intercultural higher education music studies.
Connected to this focus, both Adriano and Nathan are currently core members of the teaching team developing and leading an intercultural music degree programme titled Global Music at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.
