Diversity Statement

The heavy debt and continuing legacies of oppression in arts education and society at large can be countered by active, affirmative, and constant efforts by teachers and arts leaders to create space and opportunities for members of underrepresented groups. Diversity and inclusion must become verbs if they are to make a difference in the lives of people who global society has left behind. 

Only a genuine spirit of inclusion allows individuals to blossom unfettered. The most invaluable privilege I had as a young person was to grow up in a profoundly nonjudgmental community of “unschoolers” and other nontraditional students marked by a complete absence of bullying of any kind – religious creed, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, and race were not dividing factors. Every child should have the privilege of growing up in inclusive and equitable circumstances free from systemic disempowerment and othering. 

The learning environment a teacher creates plays a highly visible role in building this society, setting up lifelong expectations for peers, role models, and career paths. In the classroom and studio, my lesson plans include contributions by BIPOC and women composers from all eras. I actively encourage and materially support students, friends, and colleagues who belong to underrepresented groups, facilitating additional instruction and offering festival and performance opportunities to individuals for whom these doors have long been closed. 

These constant efforts are necessary for the renewal of music and the arts in 21st-century society, for a musical canon and profession which is remade by revolutionary voices from outside the old echo chambers.