linda+ippolito

I would like to introduce Linda Ippolito. I first met Linda this past fall when we were both artist-in-residence at The Banff Centre. Linda brings her extensive background as a world class musician and a talented lawyer to one of the world’s greatest challenges: global peace making. Her thesis, which I have just had the privilege to read, explains why collaborative music making, and especially vocal choirs and ensembles can support peace building and conflict resolution, even in some of the most tension-filled areas of the world. To say that her work is breaking new ground is an understatement. Moreover, she is a delightful human being – someone you will enjoy meeting because of who she is (as well as for what she knows and what she is doing). Let me give you a bit of her formal background: Linda Ippolito is a classical pianist, litigation lawyer, alternative dispute resolution practitioner, and teacher. She studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. Throughout the 1980’s Linda distinguished herself at national and international competitions, participating, most notably, in the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, the Sydney International Piano Competition in Australia, and the Montreal International Piano Competition in Canada. She has performed throughout North American and Europe as a soloist, vocal collaborator and duo pianist, and continues to actively perform. As a Toronto-based litigation lawyer since 1994, with a practice now focused primarily in family and estates law, Linda has argued before every level of Court in Ontario and before various administrative tribunals. She is also a certified collaborative family practitioner and mediator, and has taught a number of subjects, including negotiation theory and practice, to law students, lawyers and non-legal professionals. Her passion lies in the intersection between music and peace building. Linda has recently completed her Master of Laws Degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. Her major research paper explores collaborative vocal music-making as an innovative tool in conflict resolution and peace building. It proposes group vocal music-making – whether the format is choir, circle singing, chanting, or improvised sounding - as an effective social contact vehicle through which opposing groups can come together in a cooperative activity to address the past, experience the present, and the explore the possibilities of a shared future. Through the universal language of music and the ritual of group music-making, people can work together to build sustainable peace, and achieve the conflict resolution goals of reconciliation and healing. It is Ippolito’s goal to apply the model in a variety of formats for different purposes, working in partnership with professionals from other disciplines. The model is also a powerful team-building and leadership development vehicle through which a number of objectives can be achieved alongside conflict resolution and peace building goals. I would like to welcome Linda as a member of AACORN All my best, Nancy