Orchestrating Change

Today, we are joined by three members of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Beth Kellar-Long is the Vice President of the Orchestra Administration, Sam Bergman is a violist in the orchestra, and Yvonne Cheek is a board member. Their committee was formed in 2015 after the orchestra went on a transformative tour to Cuba, and their work has led to impactful change in...

Our guest today is composer Angélica Negrón. Her works range from traditional orchestral and chamber pieces to compositions for accordion, toys, and electronics, and have been performed by such prestigious ensembles as the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Kronos Quartet, among many others. She was an artist in residence at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and is currently a teaching art...

Our guest today is Tiffany Kinnard-Payton, Dean of Students at Walsh University here in Canton. She is an alumna of Walsh and has spent nearly fifteen years working serving her alma mater in the offices of residential life, student conduct, and multicultural affairs in addition to her current position. She is also a graduate of Project Blueprint, the United Way program started by Season 2 guest Fl...

We are joined today by Quinn Mason, a conductor and composer based in Dallas, Texas. Writing for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber ensembles, and more, Quinn has had his compositions played all over the world by ensembles such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. As a conductor, Quinn has worked with Orchestra Seattle, MusicaNova Orchestra and t...

Today we welcome conductor Tiffany Chang to our podcast. Originally trained in the world of music education, Chang holds positions at both Oberlin Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, and previously served as interim director of orchestras at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and Boston University. Lately, her focus has been geared more toward the professional realm, particularly the world of ope...

We are joined today by Joshua Thomas, Vice President of External Affairs at the Philly POPS. He joined the Philly POPS in 2019 as their Senior Manager of Development, having previously worked in administrative roles at the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. He is also active with The League of American Orchestras and served as a consultant and mentor for...

Today is the first time in our podcast’s history that we welcome two guests: Jules Biber and Kallie Sugatski from ChamberQUEER, an LGBTQ+ chamber music organization in New York City dedicated to presenting and performing queer composers and musicians and highlighting historical queer figures in Classical music. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new we...

Today, we are joined by Jazmin Morales, Assistant Director of the Center for Innovation and Community Impact at the Colburn School, a prestigious conservatory in Los Angeles. She is the founder of Fortissima, an artistic leadership development program for women of color in classical music. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the Arts Leadership Program at the University of Southern California...

We are joined today by Jeri Lynne Johnson, founder and artistic director of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia. For over a decade, Black Pearl has been a model for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the orchestral industry as a racially diverse ensemble performing for a racially diverse audience - something that the rest of the industry has only recently begun to talk about. Jeri’s...

Orchestrating Change is back! We are so excited to present the first episode of Season 3! Our guest today is MJ Albacete, a native Cantonian who spent his entire professional career with the Canton Museum of Art, including serving as executive director for over 25 years. An arts educator equally versed in the visual and performing arts, he teaches classes on the history of art and architecture at...

This episode marks the end of the first Orchestrating Change Leadership Program and Season 2 of the Orchestrating Change podcast. All summer, 9 college students met via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays to discuss issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; network with over 30 industry professionals; and develop skills to become to next leaders in the field of music. Along with this learning, the OC...

We are joined today by internationally renowned pianist Shuai Wang. She performs extensively as both a soloist and chamber musician, including an appearance with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. She is currently on faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and spends her summers teaching at Interlochen in Michigan. She is an alumna of both institutions, having received her high school diploma at...

Our guest today is Ryan Walks, Manager of the Talent Development Program at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which has provided training and career development to young Classical musicians in the Black and Latino communities for over twenty-five years. Prior to entering the world of arts administration, he was trained as a trumpet player and music educator, receiving all of his degrees from histori...

Today on Orchestrating Change, we welcome LaFlovia “Flo” Ginanni. She has been at United Way of Greater Stark County since 2013. She is currently the Director of United Way’s Project Blueprint for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-a board and committee preparedness program designed to recruit, train, and place ethnically diverse leaders into policy making roles to enhance the effectiveness of nonpr...

Today, we welcome Geetha Somayajula, a dedicated arts administrator, singer, conductor, and teacher currently based in Portland, Oregon. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned degrees in choral music (BA) and business administration (BS). She has sung in prestigious ensembles and festival choruses including the youth chorus of the Oregon Bach Festival, the 201...

Today on Orchestrating Change, our guest is Rick Robinson: a composer and double bassist who was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for 22 years. Prior to joining the DSO, he played here in the Canton Symphony, as well as up the road with the Akron Symphony. He is the founder of Cut Time Productions, a publishing company dedicated to producing chamber arrangements of orchestral masterworks...

This week we are joined by Jeff Talbert, Superintendent of Canton City Schools. He has previously served as Superintendent of Alliance City Schools, also here in Stark County, in addition to positions with the Cleveland Heights-University Heights and Osnaburg Local School Districts. Before that, he was the principal at McKinley High School, right next door to us here at the Zimmermann Symphony Cen...

Our guest today is Ron Ponder, a man of many talents who has dedicated his life and career to civic and community engagement here in Canton. He has served as Deputy Mayor of Canton, President of the Stark County NAACP, and a Board Member of the Salvation Army. He was the host of “Points to Ponder”, which aired both on WHBC Radio for 10 years. He is currently the CEO of PonderSystems Media, which p...

Our guest today is Dr. Ana Abrantes, Director of Education at the Sphinx Organization, one of our nation’s leading organizations that is working to develop and support diversity and inclusion in Classical music. She holds a Doctorate in Cello Performance from the University of Georgia, and held several regional orchestra positions in that state, including Principal Cello of the Athens Symphony Orc...

We are joined today by two-time GRAMMY Award winning operatic bass-baritone Dashon Burton. Dashon’s repertoire runs the gamut from the Baroque period to the present, and he has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies. He is a member of the contemporary vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, and has devoted his career to breaking down the arbitrary walls of what it means...

This week’s discussion is with pianist, composer and educator Eric Gould. We discuss the history of non-white composers and he shares his own story as an African-American composer. As a person from a family of composers, Gould is able to give unique perspective to what it means to be a part of orchestral music as a non-white person and educates us on the rich history of composers of color. Eric Go...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains content discussing sexual assault and domestic abuse. Viewer discretion is advised. In this episode of Orchestrating Change we step outside the world of orchestral music to look at the music industry at large. Frequent guest artist with the Canton Symphony, Angie Haze, discusses the difficulties for independent musicians and the shift to online performance. W...

In today’s episode, Julian Maddox shares his own experience as a young musician of color in the orchestral world. We discuss what it really takes to bring about truly diverse programming on and off the stage and unpack “the canon” of orchestral music. This discussion gives us a glimpse into what work really needs to be done to bring inclusion and equity to our stages and musical institutions. Cant...

  Today on Orchestrating Change, we are joined by Music Director of the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Gerhardt Zimmermann. He shares his story as a physically disabled conductor through his long and prosperous career. We also discuss his views on the orchestral industry and what issues he has seen from the perspective of the music director. How has the industry changed and what can long standing prof...

Today on Orchestrating Change, GRAMMY award-winning conductor, JoAnn Falletta, spoke with us about her journey to become one of the first female music directors of a major American orchestra and where she sees the future of orchestral music going. Her passion for the orchestra flowed through this conversation and made it very clear to us why she was able to shatter the glass ceiling of conducting....