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The Lewis Prize for Music, which invests in music leaders to facilitate positive change and increase access to music education, announced its latest group of awardees in January of 2021.
We had the opportunity to connect with Celina Miranda, Ph.D., who draws on her extensive experience in youth development and philanthropy, as well as her own lived experience, in her current role as Executive Director of Hyde Square Task Force.
Read moreLast month, I wrote about a conversation I had with Alysia Lee and her work, Say Her Name, which premiered in November 2020. The #SayHerName movement resists police brutality against Black women. If you say the name, you're prompted to learn the story, and if you know the story, then you have a broader sense of all the ways Black bodies are made vulnerable to police violence. In this part, we spoke about her creative collaborations with students.
Read moreGuided by its vision of HARMONY – Helping Achieve Responsible, Motivated, Optimistic Neighborhood Youth – the Institute of Music for Children is building a community of high-achieving citizens who are arts lovers and arts makers through professional instruction, mentorship, and family engagement. Each year, the Institute provides over 1,000 New Jersey youth with affordable, high-quality arts training in a creative and nurturing environment. The Institute broadens participation in the arts in underserved communities through tuition assistance, bi-lingual staff and promotional materials, and urban outreach initiatives.
Read moreAlysia is the Coordinator of Fine Arts for the Maryland State Arts Council, the Founder and Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir, a faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, and a board member for Chorus America. In addition to serving in all of those roles, Alysia is a performer, conductor, composer, and public speaker. Her original composition, Say Her Name, premiered in November 2020, performed by the University of Michigan choir. The piece was written as a vehicle to bring the powerful Kwanzaa ceremony to the concert stage with a call to action.
Read moreAs part of its findings, the study shows that the majority of respondents from Nigeria resorted to using different art forms during the lockdown to assuage loneliness, depression, and boredom. These art forms include music, dance aerobics, visual arts expressions such as painting, sculpting, and ceramics. Simultaneously, the majority relied on the Nigerian film industry known as Nollywood for its cross-cultural heritage and entertainment transmissions.
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