Reflections for a new season: What is resounding now?
When Harry and Jaime first came together to begin the Hear Us, Hear Them journey in 2020, the environment was fueled by outcry. As opposed to years past, awareness of the glaring inequity issues in not only our industry, but in the world at large, was at an all time high. Between the power of information sharing on the internet, and the virality of activists (and unfortunately, their imitators), our lives were dense with hard conversations. Many in our communities found themselves wanting to step from conversation to action, not exactly knowing how, but determined to try.
A couple years have passed, and now as we enter our third season, the landscape has changed. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) professionals went from an occasional bonus in the workplace, to robust departments common in many sectors. According to Glassdoor, open leadership roles in DEI increased 2.6 times between June 2020 and December 2020. BIPOC leadership is also on the rise–in an article from December 2022, Investopedia notes that in some executive roles, like Chief Financial Officer, Black leadership has almost doubled since 2020, and women in these roles is also at a whole time high; 22 percent of S&P 500/Fortune 500 companies have women in CFO or CEO roles.
But this new landscape comes with new hazards. BIPOC leaders are hired as tokens, and put in positions with no support and high scrutiny. Essentially, new hires are put in positions where they're destined to fail. Companies then check off their "diversity hire" box, and note that, in their eyes, the experiment of DEI was a bust. Although we see growth in leadership roles, as discussed above, the same articles note how diverse leadership still seems to be stuck at middle and boardroom levels, and the demographics CEO positions remain relatively status quo. At the community level, BIPOC individuals find themselves burning out after carrying the burden of not only educating the more privileged on their needs, but then being expected to create and execute solutions alone. In education, you may see a single year of a diverse cohort in graduate, intern and pre-professional programs are then being followed by a homogeneous year as before, as directors feel like they've "done their part."
How then, do we navigate forward, over such a challenging environment?
This is where the theme for our third season was born–Resounding Peace.
At first, Resounding Peace may seem an odd answer to Collective Noise. After all, isn't change born in times of conflict? Why resounding? But when we examine these ideas, we find that will help us navigate this new landscape, and make sustainable changes in the world around us.
On Resounding
Resounding is not just loud. It is emphatic and reverberant; enduring and unmistakable.
Here, we find a desire for sustainable change. The dreams to suddenly change our industry were rightfully earned, and commonly shared. By the end of 2022, however, just over two years after the George Floyd protests inspired worldwide cries for change, we already experienced a slowdown of reform attempts. Sure, Black composers pop up on programs more, but the space given to not only Black composers, but non-male, LGBTQIA+, is narrow and confined to palatable views of identity.
So, to be noisy is certainly still important, but so is making this noise last. We must break the cycle of a couple years of change, before sliding right back into the normal until it's unbearable, so we try again. Instead, let's create vibrations, ripples in the pond, that continue to fan out from their origin, even when our individual strength fails us.
On Peace
Peace seems to be the goal line that's always declared, never reached. Peace time is not considered a truth in our world, a realistic or attainable state of being. Is the only way to truly experience peace to deny the harsh realities of our world?
We say: no.
Understand that peace is not ignorance, it is joy. You have perhaps heard the F.B. Meyer quote “Joy is peace dancing. Peace is joy at rest.” That is because they go hand-in-hand. Peace doesn’t reflect a want of silence (which would be counterintuitive to resounding), but a reminder of our goal–joy for ALL. When we make our noise, we must keep in mind the reason. Why do we strive to inform ourselves about the identities and backgrounds of the composers of our music? Why do we seek to diversify the canon? Why is Black leadership important? Because it is through deep and permanent inclusion that we create the opportunities to bring joy, pleasure, and peace, to not just some, but to all.
Our Commitments
This year, Hear Us, Hear Them is committed to Resounding Peace:
We will continue to program music that reflects many voices, never just a few.
We will educate ourselves and our singers on the backgrounds of the people who have contributed these works to our new canon, and thus increase our understanding of others and the world.
We will give choral composers a new platform to share their stories however they want, free from the constraints of industry expectations.
We will continue to study accessibility, and strive to create concert and musical experiences that bring joy to all.
We will reach out to those younger than us, helping the next generation of choral singers, conductors, and appreciators to feel empowered to continue to enrich and progress our world.
We will sing with joy.
As we enter 2023, and a new season at Hear Us, Hear Them, I invite you to reflect on what Resounding Peace will look like in your life:
What do you want to say?
What do you want to be your ripple effect?
What is at its center?
And how will you take care of yourself so that your message continues to ring in the air, even when you may falter?
What brings you peace?
How can you share that with others?
And will you?
About the author
Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Taylor Mackenzie Adams is a believer and example of the power of interdisciplinary education. She received her B.Mus (Voice) and B.Arts (Cognition) in her hometown at the University of Michigan, where she studied voice with Caroline Helton. She is a proud member of the Detroit-based EXIGENCE and Cincinnati-based Hear Us, Hear Them. Currently, she studies at Bard College Conservatory of Music with Lucy Fitz Gibbon.
