so I’d like to begin today speaking just
a little bit about my project the
forward music project this is a project
that Commission’s new musical works that
encourage social change and empowerment
for women and girls and two years ago I
had this itch in my stomach that I
really couldn’t scratch
I felt like my musical career was not
really connecting to the community I
lived in and was not responding to the
current political climate and I kept
thinking of an artist that I greatly
admire Nina Simone who used her artistry
to empower her community and create
change and she did say it best that an
artist’s duty is to reflect the times
and so I thought why aren’t classical
musicians more outwardly political is it
because primarily we play music without
words is it because we have audiences
that range on the political spectrum are
we afraid to offend and I wouldn’t be
able to talk about social change in
classical music if I didn’t approach the
issue that classical music still has a
great lack of diversity in the audience
as well as onstage when you picture a
classical music concert what do you see
usually you see a grandiose halt
expensive ticket prices and this
conjurer is a feeling of elitism and
exclusivity and not only is there lack
of diversity on and off the stage it’s
also in our history books when we learn
about the history of classical music we
read about Beethoven
Sartre Hyden Brahms Debussy all white
male composers if there’s ever any
mention of women or people of color it’s
a side note and you’re lucky if they
mention even more than a mere few one of
my favorite Twitter feeds is by Brian
Lauritzen and he is an advocate of
diversity in the arts as well as an
advocate for women composers and every
time a major Orchestra or opera company
or chamber music series announces their
next season’s program he creates these
breakdowns these composer breakdowns so
I’ve pulled a few from Twitter and let’s
see what Brian has pulled together so we
have the Philadelphia Orchestra 50
different composers men 49 women one
dead 42
rest in peace alive eight the Dallas
Symphony 30 different composers men 30
women 0 the Utah Symphony 28 different
composers men 28 women 0 the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra 46 different
composers men 43 female 3 Metropolitan
Opera men 16 women 0 and the Chamber
Music Society of Lincoln Center 65 male
composers and six women so these
institutions these great institutions
have great cultural power and I again
come back to the feeling of fear what
are we afraid of in Y in 2017 have we
still not created equality in our
concert programming yo-yo ma says that
everybody is afraid and when you connect
with somebody through music you can turn
fear into joy so I want to
ask who is it that you are actually
seeking to connect with and I’m not the
only one that’s addressing the issues
around the country of lack of diversity
in classical music there are
organizations that are doing really
really wonderful work to create
inclusivity among them are the Sphinx
organization that supports the work of
African American and Latino classical
musicians and puts instruments and hands
of students across the country who
otherwise would not have access to music
education and their catch phrase is
transforming lives through the power of
diversity in the arts there is the dream
unfinished which is an activist
Orchestra that supports New York City
based civil rights community
organizations the first year they
launched a concert by a very diverse
orchestra in commemoration of the death
of Eric garner the second year sing her
name the one year commemoration of the
death of Sandra bland this year they are
focusing on the prison to pipeline
education system also community music
schools like community MusicWorks in
Providence Rhode Island
that creates a cohesive urban community
through music education and performances
so with my project the forward music
project I wanted to use the cello as a
platform to create social change and to
raise awareness of women’s issues and in
performance I am able to embody
empathize and share stories in one of
the most effective settings which is a
concert and as a listener this
experience for you is visceral you you
see you hear you feel music is healing
music is empowering
so I commissioned seven composers to
write pieces for me based on their
personal story or an issue that affects
women and girls and the pieces that came
back to me ranged
issues of sexual violence and child
marriage to reproductive rights and
female empowerment these composers are
Natalie Hashem Alison Loggins hull and
helican a grown Leila I do
Amanda theory and Morgan Krauss and
Jessica Meier and these women are the
face of classical music today these
women are the future of music and along
with this project instead of having the
regular headshot cellist and cello
I wanted to create images that conjured
how I felt about women’s issues that
were authentic to the projects I created
so along with photographer Ryan sharp we
created images that evoke the feeling of
oppression suffocation abuse
vulnerability and body image so I want
all of us and classical musicians
especially to see now it wouldn’t be a
TED talk if I didn’t have fancy letters
with words that came after them so seek
encourage empower let’s ask ourselves
these questions every time we program a
concert every time we create a new
project which community are we seeking
to connect with what message are we
encouraging people to hear and who are
we empowering so I’d like to conclude
today with a performance of two pieces
from this project one is a work by
Morgan Krauss and she wrote a piece
based on an experience of sexual assault
thank you these women can better explain
their pieces than I so again we will
listen to a recording of Morgan talking
about her piece which is titled memories
lie dormant they are reviled before they
are revealed imagine what it is to come
upon or be subjected to trauma emotional
physical or the like at first your mind
races you are inept every thought and
bodily awareness becomes an untidy
collection or pile of things spilling
from within your being simultaneously
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
the next piece is mm by jessica.meyer I
wanted to write a piece for Amanda where
she gets to do all the things she loves
she glows from the stage when she was
grooving on her cello and I wanted to
capture that swerve is about women
making a conscious effort to get
everything grooving the way it should
and balance with all of the feelings
responsibilities and challenges that are
unique to us it is about the time we
need to take to make sure we both take
care of ourselves and find our true
selves so we are the most resilient
persistent empowered versions of
ourselves in essence that moment when
you get your swerve on
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
a little bit about my project the
forward music project this is a project
that Commission’s new musical works that
encourage social change and empowerment
for women and girls and two years ago I
had this itch in my stomach that I
really couldn’t scratch
I felt like my musical career was not
really connecting to the community I
lived in and was not responding to the
current political climate and I kept
thinking of an artist that I greatly
admire Nina Simone who used her artistry
to empower her community and create
change and she did say it best that an
artist’s duty is to reflect the times
and so I thought why aren’t classical
musicians more outwardly political is it
because primarily we play music without
words is it because we have audiences
that range on the political spectrum are
we afraid to offend and I wouldn’t be
able to talk about social change in
classical music if I didn’t approach the
issue that classical music still has a
great lack of diversity in the audience
as well as onstage when you picture a
classical music concert what do you see
usually you see a grandiose halt
expensive ticket prices and this
conjurer is a feeling of elitism and
exclusivity and not only is there lack
of diversity on and off the stage it’s
also in our history books when we learn
about the history of classical music we
read about Beethoven
Sartre Hyden Brahms Debussy all white
male composers if there’s ever any
mention of women or people of color it’s
a side note and you’re lucky if they
mention even more than a mere few one of
my favorite Twitter feeds is by Brian
Lauritzen and he is an advocate of
diversity in the arts as well as an
advocate for women composers and every
time a major Orchestra or opera company
or chamber music series announces their
next season’s program he creates these
breakdowns these composer breakdowns so
I’ve pulled a few from Twitter and let’s
see what Brian has pulled together so we
have the Philadelphia Orchestra 50
different composers men 49 women one
dead 42
rest in peace alive eight the Dallas
Symphony 30 different composers men 30
women 0 the Utah Symphony 28 different
composers men 28 women 0 the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra 46 different
composers men 43 female 3 Metropolitan
Opera men 16 women 0 and the Chamber
Music Society of Lincoln Center 65 male
composers and six women so these
institutions these great institutions
have great cultural power and I again
come back to the feeling of fear what
are we afraid of in Y in 2017 have we
still not created equality in our
concert programming yo-yo ma says that
everybody is afraid and when you connect
with somebody through music you can turn
fear into joy so I want to
ask who is it that you are actually
seeking to connect with and I’m not the
only one that’s addressing the issues
around the country of lack of diversity
in classical music there are
organizations that are doing really
really wonderful work to create
inclusivity among them are the Sphinx
organization that supports the work of
African American and Latino classical
musicians and puts instruments and hands
of students across the country who
otherwise would not have access to music
education and their catch phrase is
transforming lives through the power of
diversity in the arts there is the dream
unfinished which is an activist
Orchestra that supports New York City
based civil rights community
organizations the first year they
launched a concert by a very diverse
orchestra in commemoration of the death
of Eric garner the second year sing her
name the one year commemoration of the
death of Sandra bland this year they are
focusing on the prison to pipeline
education system also community music
schools like community MusicWorks in
Providence Rhode Island
that creates a cohesive urban community
through music education and performances
so with my project the forward music
project I wanted to use the cello as a
platform to create social change and to
raise awareness of women’s issues and in
performance I am able to embody
empathize and share stories in one of
the most effective settings which is a
concert and as a listener this
experience for you is visceral you you
see you hear you feel music is healing
music is empowering
so I commissioned seven composers to
write pieces for me based on their
personal story or an issue that affects
women and girls and the pieces that came
back to me ranged
issues of sexual violence and child
marriage to reproductive rights and
female empowerment these composers are
Natalie Hashem Alison Loggins hull and
helican a grown Leila I do
Amanda theory and Morgan Krauss and
Jessica Meier and these women are the
face of classical music today these
women are the future of music and along
with this project instead of having the
regular headshot cellist and cello
I wanted to create images that conjured
how I felt about women’s issues that
were authentic to the projects I created
so along with photographer Ryan sharp we
created images that evoke the feeling of
oppression suffocation abuse
vulnerability and body image so I want
all of us and classical musicians
especially to see now it wouldn’t be a
TED talk if I didn’t have fancy letters
with words that came after them so seek
encourage empower let’s ask ourselves
these questions every time we program a
concert every time we create a new
project which community are we seeking
to connect with what message are we
encouraging people to hear and who are
we empowering so I’d like to conclude
today with a performance of two pieces
from this project one is a work by
Morgan Krauss and she wrote a piece
based on an experience of sexual assault
thank you these women can better explain
their pieces than I so again we will
listen to a recording of Morgan talking
about her piece which is titled memories
lie dormant they are reviled before they
are revealed imagine what it is to come
upon or be subjected to trauma emotional
physical or the like at first your mind
races you are inept every thought and
bodily awareness becomes an untidy
collection or pile of things spilling
from within your being simultaneously
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
the next piece is mm by jessica.meyer I
wanted to write a piece for Amanda where
she gets to do all the things she loves
she glows from the stage when she was
grooving on her cello and I wanted to
capture that swerve is about women
making a conscious effort to get
everything grooving the way it should
and balance with all of the feelings
responsibilities and challenges that are
unique to us it is about the time we
need to take to make sure we both take
care of ourselves and find our true
selves so we are the most resilient
persistent empowered versions of
ourselves in essence that moment when
you get your swerve on
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
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