Cari Burdett and Lila Music Centre
Lila Music Centre was created in 2007 to serve our community from the heart with professional calibre music-making and education.
Lila is an ancient Sanskrit word. It combines our concept of play with the cosmos itself. Lila is creating, destroying, re-creating, delighting in the moment, and spontaneously acting from the source: love.
The initial vision behind Lila Music Centre was a place for meeting the self and meeting others – through musical play. Located in our heritage house on a working farm acreage, Lila has become an active hub of ongoing learning and teaching. As well as ongoing vocal and guitar lessons, family music classes, and choirs, we offer a wide spectrum of workshops including guest teacher events. Performances, improvisation sessions, and community music celebrations define life at Lila.
Cari is a seasoned vocalist and music educator with a profound dedication to the transformative power of voice and song. Holding a Bachelor of Music in Performance Voice from McGill University and a Master of Music in Performance Voice and Opera from the London Royal Academy of Music, Cari is fluent in English, French, Swedish, and Italian, with the ability to sing in Russian, Spanish, German, and more.
With over 30 years of training in vocal improvisation under the guidance of Rhiannon, including an intensive year-long training program, Cari has honed a unique approach to voice as a tool for personal and community transformation. She has further enriched her practice under the guidance of Shivon Robinson and Dennis Donnelly in the first Community Choir Leadership Training in Victoria, BC.
Her commitment to the power of music in community building is evident in her involvement with the Ubuntu Song Network and her dedication to offering song and community choir to local non-profits, vigils, and community needs. Cari is also deeply invested in village making, rites of passage, and deep nature connection, working closely with local Indigenous Elders to honor the sacred unseeded lands she inhabits.
In addition to her work as a voice teacher at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and Camosun College’s Post-Graduate programs, Cari has completed extensive sound healing training and has a strong foundation in Waldorf pedagogy, having taught music from grades 1 to 12 at Sunrise Waldorf School. Her Master’s thesis explored the importance of music, improvisation and play in the healthy development of children as inspired by her mentor Par Ahlbom, Jarna Sweden, where she lived for fours years to study and work with him and his specialized Waldorf School “Solvik”.
Cari’s dedication to vocal arts extends beyond education; she is an award-winning recording artist, with her CD *Magnolia* and successful music tours receiving critical acclaim. Her work includes threshold singing in hospices, hospitals, and homes for over 12 years, bringing comfort and peace through song. Cari’s artistic journey also includes three music residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, further solidifying her place as a dynamic force in the world of vocal music.