At my previous institution, I taught a senior capstone class. The class could be about any topic in performance, theory, or history, which left it pretty wide open. I felt strongly that the students should have a class on what I called “silenced voices,” a class that went back and covered the same survey timeline […]
ADEI
Performing the Bach Passions as a Jew
By Ayana Haviv Tomorrow I begin rehearsals on Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, as I have done with countless Passions over the years, and as always I am steeling myself for the isolation and alienation I feel as a Jew singing this intrinsically and unquestionably anti-Semitic text of an equally unquestionable masterpiece. In the great classic […]
Songs of (Re)imagining: The Border CrosSing series
Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa founded Border CrosSing in 2017, a Minnesota-based organization that “envisions fundamental change in classical music culture, so that every concert, every audience, and the artists on stage truly reflect the cultural reality in which we live.” For more about Dr. Anzaldúa and the beginnings of Border CrosSing, read this 2019 interview with […]
Stories of Healing and Reimagining with Derrick Fox
In March 2020, Dr. Derrick Fox was leading students toward a performance of “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by Joel Thompson. This performance was a culmination of choral experiences over multiple years, where Dr. Fox and students had worked to build an awareness of the human experience. They sang octavos covering different topics, such […]
Stories of Healing and Reimagining with Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa
This was a remarkably invigorating, inspiring, and humbling conversation with Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa, Founder and Artistic Director of Border CrosSing, and Director of Music Ministries at Unity Church in St. Paul, a congregation with a robust music program including four adult choirs, children’s choir, and an annual musical. In the initial months of COVID, […]