Music2Gether

In Part 1 of this two part episode, Beth and Chris talk to three Black music educators about racial trauma in music education and how we got here.

Panelists: Dr. Kevin Daniel Johnson, Arielle Lewis, Brian Wright

For Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Beth and Chris talk to three Asian-American music educators about misconceptions and stereotypes, the pressure and culture to be the “model minority,” and the diversity and under-representation of AAPI voices in music education.

Panelists: Amy Branahl, Anjelica Lat, Jordan Yi

In this episode, Chris and Gareth sit down with Rekha Rajan to discuss musical theatre, race, and representation in musical theare. Rekha is a music educator, author, actor, and singer. She is the editor of General Music Today, and holds a doctorate in music education from Columbia University.

In this episode, Chris and Gareth talk with James Dekle, the artist in residence at the Purdue Black Cultural Center. We at Music2gether want to honor our Black colleagues throughout the year (not just during February as Black History Month), so we discussed his work as a Black person in predominantly White spaces, racialized trauma, and the healing power that comes from musical experiences.

James grew up in Statesboro, Georgia. He attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, FL, Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. and now the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He spent a lot of his adult life conducting choirs in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Indiana. He was also involved in the Atlanta Music Project, an El Sistema program. At Purdue, he directs the Black Voices of Inspiration Choir and the Purdue Express, a group he founded in 2016.  He’s a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of American, ACDA, NAFME, and the Georgia Music Industry Association.

In this episode, Beth and a panel of K-12 music educators unpack gender bias and representation in music education.

Lucy Green is Emerita Professor of Music Education at the UCL Institute of Education, London UK. She is internationally known for her work in music education, particularly in relation to popular music, informal learning, new pedagogies, gender, ideology, musical meaning and more generally, the sociology of music. In this episode, Chris and Gareth speak with Lucy Green about sociology, musicianship, gender, and informal music learning. They also learn about Lucy Green's current work around self-accompanied music performance.

In this episode, Beth and the panel discuss intersectionality in music education. They unpack how the representation of Black people, Black voices, and Black contributions should be year-round and woven through every aspect of the classroom, how classrooms make space and time for learning about unfamiliar topics, and the importance of connecting music education to communities and people outside the classroom. Learn more at https://www.doingmusictogether.com/

Chris and Gareth talk with Jasmine Hines about her black feminism, intersectionality, and the importance of making sure that we “pay attention to black girls,” a topic she expanded upon in her recent article in the Journal of Popular Music Education. It’s a great reminder that music teachers can have a profound impact on students’ lives and how the music of Black women music can inspire us to make music, build communities, and do music together!

Beth and Chris talk to a panel of music educators at different stages in their teaching careers about gatekeeping--what it is, how it impacts classroom practices, and what we can do about it. Panelists: Katie Bush, Marcus Moone, and Leah Thakur. Find out more at https://www.doingmusictogether.com/

Chris and Gareth talk about gatekeeping in music education and discuss the ways they have been kept at gates, opened gates, and made their own  gates to walkthrough with others. Stay tuned for a rousing conversation that challenges the barriers that have been put up in music education institutions, and unpacks how you as an educator or student might navigate these gates. Find out more at https://www.doingmusictogether.com/