PODIUM 2022’s Critical Conversations (formerly known as Keynotes) will give the stage to important panel discussions with leaders in our community as we consider topics including Centering Indigenous Voices moderated by Lori-Anne Dolloff, Making it Work: Insights on Diversity moderated by Floydd Ricketts, and Plenty Good Room: Expanding the Choral Canon moderated by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.
These conversations will provide a forum for discussing relevant and timely themes in singing and choral practice, including intersections among music, singing, inclusion and community engagement, the choral arts as a vehicle for social change, and indigenous ways of knowing and music-making.
Critical Conversations will also be live-streamed for our virtual delegates, allowing in-person and online attendees to participate in the discussions and the Q&A. We are examining the possibilities for live translation and closed-captioning.
These conversations will provide a forum for discussing relevant and timely themes in singing and choral practice, including intersections among music, singing, inclusion and community engagement, the choral arts as a vehicle for social change, and indigenous ways of knowing and music-making.
Critical Conversations will also be live-streamed for our virtual delegates, allowing in-person and online attendees to participate in the discussions and the Q&A. We are examining the possibilities for live translation and closed-captioning.
Making it Work: Insights on Diversity
“Equity is the precursor to renewed societal relevance in all western classical forms of music.” - panelist, Andrew Adridge, co-founder Opera InReach. Over the past few years, the topic of diversity in choral music has reached a tipping point and has emerged as one of the most important facets to fostering inclusivity, relevance, and positive change in choral music today. As a global shift continues to take place surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion, there are questions that we all should continue to ask ourselves in order to ensure that we don’t fall back into antiquated and exclusionary patterns. Gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality, faith, and many other forms of heterogeneity deserve to be acknowledged not just in the repertoire that we choose or the language that we use during rehearsal, but rather on a holistic, all-encompassing scale. This 4-person panel of voice professionals will discuss topics such as what it is like to work as a “diverse” person in the choral field, what challenges we face as leaders in this time surrounding tokenism, how we envision the future of this art form to evolve in North America, ideas of how to create more accessible environments, and what the term “equity” really means in 2022.
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Moderated by Floydd Ricketts
with panelists Andrew Adridge, Arianne Abela, Haitham Haidar and Dr. Tracy Wong
with panelists Andrew Adridge, Arianne Abela, Haitham Haidar and Dr. Tracy Wong
Centering Indigenous Voices
The choral art embodies language, makes words sing and can serve as an important nexus for creating relationships and providing a way to introduce and moderate difficult discussions of erased history, continued cultural oppression, and resurgence.
In this critical conversation we will hear the perspectives and experiences of Indigenous artists and teachers/conductors. I will ask each to describe their perspective of singing together. We will talk about non-Indigenous choirs and conductors creating the necessary space to build robust respect, relationships, reciprocity, and renewal. As part of the discussion each panelist will share their protocols for engaging Indigenous artists, co-creating or curating concert events and, draw on their own life journeys to inform our professional practice as singers and conductors. All are actively involved in creating songs that reclaim language, affirming culture and telling the stories that build relationship with new generations, and will teach a new way of sharing the land—if we but listen. |
Moderated by Lori-Anne Dolloff
with panelists Andrew Balfour (Cree), Russell Wallace (Líl̓wat), Sherryl Sewepagaham (Cree-Dene)
with panelists Andrew Balfour (Cree), Russell Wallace (Líl̓wat), Sherryl Sewepagaham (Cree-Dene)
Plenty Good Room: Expanding the Choral Canon
The reference for the title of this Critical Conversaton is from a Spiritual: “Plenty good room, plenty good room, just choose your seat and sit down.” The idea being that there’s lots of room at the choral table, and much of which to partake.
The panel of four choral educators, composers and conductors will address issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in choral literature. The conversation will query ways in which future educators and conductors are prepared to engage with a diverse repertoire, and explore strategies for the greater inclusion in curricula and concert programming of underrepresented music and composers. |
Moderated by Brainerd Blyden-Taylor
with panelists Barbara Assiginaak, Jamie Hillman, Kathy Armstrong, Marques L.A. Garrett
with panelists Barbara Assiginaak, Jamie Hillman, Kathy Armstrong, Marques L.A. Garrett