The thing that's most important to me is making
sure that people feel seen. What I try to do
with my work, with my scholarship, is making
sure that people have perhaps a different perspective
of what classical music is and what it sounds
like, and then kind of challenging those perspectives
too. So broadening our scope and challenging
perspectives through music. That would be probably
my mission. In our upcoming episode, I sit down
with Dr. Leah Claiborne, pianist, educator, and
visionary for a powerful conversation in celebration
of Juneteenth month, proudly sponsored by Juneteenth
LP. Dr. Claiborne shares her groundbreaking project
featuring 10 Black concert pianists performing
historic works by Black composers alongside newly
commissioned pieces by living and emerging voices
to honor and expand the legacy of Black artistry.
We talk about what real change looks like. in
classical music, education, and society, and
how inclusion is built, not overnight, but through
daily intentional work. I always put musician
and activist or activism together. I thought
that that's just what artists did. So because
that was my foundation, I just thought, you know,
being a musician must be the best thing that
you could aspire to be. Real change is not something
that's going to happen overnight. You know, I
think real change is something that's going to
take generations after generations to really
have the change that we want, where it's something
so rooted within us that that now becomes a new
makeup, like new identity, new DNA, right? And
I think what we're aiming for is that we are
able to normalize many different voices in classical
music. that we can celebrate Bach and Beethoven,
who have stood the testament of time. But along
with that, we can also celebrate Margaret Bond
and Florence Price and Nathaniel Dead and William
Grant Still at the same level as the other standard
composers. Join the premiere of this uplifting
conversation with Dr. Leah Claiborne tomorrow,
Tuesday, June 3rd at 8 p .m. Eastern Time on
our YouTube channel, or listen wherever you get
your podcasts. Don't miss this powerful episode
celebrating visibility, legacy, and the future
of classical music.