Artist in Residence, Trico Changemakers Studio; International Center of Arts for Social Change (ICASC) 2022-2023

“Sonically it [mannat] is a very rich piece and allows the listener to be immersed in the different musics, chanting and drones in a beautiful way. ” - Hildegard Westerkamp

— Canadian Soundscape Composer

Sufi Singer-Songwriter & Acousmatic Composer

Women in Music-Canada's Honors Roll Recipient (2023)

“Staying rooted within traditional forms and honoring those while also bringing in experimentation, Shumaila Hemani sings Sufi epics in South Asian Sufi tradition compellingly." (New Works Calgary)

Praised for enriching Edmonton by Edmonton Journal (2015), Hemani is locally celebrated for her “mesmerizing” and “emotionally nerve-striking” music that carries “vocal virtuosity,” expressing “radically different inner existential visions” (Calgary Herald, 2015). Shumaila Hemani, Ph.D. in Music from the University of Alberta and Former Music Faculty, Semester at Sea, Spring 2020 voyage, is an Alberta-based Sufi singer-songwriter, acousmatic composer, sing-style poet, spoken word artist, and traditional performer. Her composition: Perils of Heavy Rainfall, received a Second Prize at the Listening During COVID contest by the Canadian Association of Sonic Ecology (CASE). The pioneering Canadian soundscape composer Hildegard Westerkamp applauded her for beautifully taking the listeners to an immersive world of different music, chanting, and drones. 

My Debut Album: Mannat

Women in Music Canada's Honor Roll

Literary Writer & Poet

Literary Writer & Poet

Nominated for the Alberta Magazine Awards in Poetry (2022)

Shumaila Hemani, Ph.D. in Music and M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Alberta, is the former Music Faculty for Semester at Sea (SAS) Spring 2020 Voyage. Her research on Sufi sounds of the Shah jo Raag, mentored by Prof. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi, is situated at the intersection of religion, governance, and social justice at the Muslim shrines in Sindh, Pakistan. Hemani has disseminated her research at many peer-reviewed conferences in Canada, the US, and internationally. She has received several awards, honours, and recognition for her academic and artistic contributions, including First Prize at the Society for Ethnomusicology Conference (2017), the Cultural Diversity Award (2015) Laura Bassi Scholarship (2018 and 2021), the State of Kuwait Award in Islamic Studies (2015), Frank Henderson Prize in the study of Women and Religion (2017), Maud Karpeles International travel award (2015), the Institute of Ismaili Studies graduate and doctoral award (2006-09/2012-17), and many others. She has published about Pakistani women's music in a historical context in the Women and Islamic Cultures (Brill, 2017) and contributed the first report about Pakistan's music to the International Council of Traditional Music (ICTM) (2021). She has also published in the Conversation, Canadian National Post, Work of Arts, and other media. Her research monograph on Sufi performers in South Asia will be published by Routledge’s Islam and Human Rights series in 2022.  

Alberta's Artist in Residence & Arts Ambassador (Short-listed)

Creative Cultural Advocate

Creative Advocate

Distinguished Founding Member, The Global Compassion Coalition

POSITIVE NEUROPLASTICITY TEACHER; DISTINGUISHED FOUNDING MEMBER (GLOBAL COMPASSION COALITION); ARTIST CHANGEMAKER/ADVOCATE

With over 15 years of experience in the fields of social advocacy, education, and music studies, I have developed a unique approach to Life Coaching that combines listening-based practices with a advocacy-centred focus. I hold a Ph.D. in Music from the University of Alberta and certifications of completion in Music and Wellness from Berklee College of Music (online). 

My advocacy-centered writing on social justice has been featured in the National Observer, National Post, CBC’s What on Earth, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, and many flagship music blogs and magazines. Hemani advocates for mental health issues and suicide prevention awareness and hope. Alongside my artist residencies at Mount Royal University and the International Center of Arts for Social Change, I also serve as a mindfulness meditation coach at the Insight Timer.

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Keynote Speaker, University of Hawaii

Speaker, First-Ever Music Climate Summit (Toronto, 2022)

Ethnomusicologist

Keynote Speaker, University of Hawaii's Climate Change and South Asia Conference (2023)

Asian Music Society Award for Independent Scholars (2022); Former Music Faculty, Semester at Sea, SPring 2020 Voyage

Shumaila Hemani, Ph.D. in Music from the University of Alberta, is the former Music Faculty for Semester at Sea (SAS) Spring 2020 Voyage and the University of Alberta. Her research, mentored by Prof. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi, is situated at the intersection of religion, borders, public policy, gender, and social justice within performing arts, particularly music and dance, within the national territory of Pakistan in South Asia. Hemani has presented at many peer-reviewed conferences, including Society for Ethnomusicology, the Canadian Society for Traditional Music (CSTM), and the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM). Hemani has received several awards, honours, and recognition for her academic and artistic work, including First Prize at the Society for Ethnomusicology Conference (2017), the Laura Bassi Scholarship (2018), the State of Kuwait Award in Islamic Studies (2015), Frank Henderson Prize in the study of Women and Religion (2017), Maud Karpeles International travel award (2015), the Institute of Ismaili Studies graduate and doctoral award (2006-09/2012-17), and others. Her contribution to the Women and Islamic Cultures (Brill) published in 2017 describes how post-colonial modernity has impacted women musicians in Pakistan. The University of Carleton published her collaborative research on campus-community engagement (SSHRC) in Canada.  Hemani was the former Editor-in-Chief of Intonations, Graduate Journal in Music at the University of Alberta and currently serves as the Liaison for Pakistan at the International Council for Traditional Music and on the Editorial Board for the Journal: Groundwork. Hemani’s research monograph on Sufi performers in South Asia within Routledge’s Islam and Human Rights series argues for the subalternity of the Sufi performers of South Asia and is supported by the Asian Music Society Award for Independent Scholars, Institute of Ismaili Studies’ Alumni Research Award, and independent crowdfunding. Hemani has taught courses on world music and soundscapes at the University of Alberta’s Music Department, Colorado State University administered programs in Semester at Sea, Spring 2020 voyage. She is currently serving as an Artist in Residence at Mount Royal University and partnering with Alberta Ecotrust to work on research-creation and community-engaged arts related to energy poverty alleviation in Alberta.

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