The unfinished dream
WHAT ARE YOU DOING “We consider ourselves an activist orchestra,” said Eun Lee, the executive director of this New York-based group, founded in 2014. “We use classical music as a vehicle to engage the public in social justice issues.”
As such, said Lee Bynum, chairman of the board, The Dream Unfinished was designed to be agile enough to respond in real time, for example, to the election season or last year’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations. On February 23, the group plans to expand YouTube programming with an event about the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and its effects on black musicology.
LESSONS LEARNED “You cannot face a challenge that has not been identified,” said Bynum. “You are talking about a deeply ingrained story and that cannot be addressed by programming. But you need to start with the real identification of why certain audiences are not participating. “
Lee added: “Art institutions really need to deal with anti-racist work from as many different angles as possible, and have a plan on how to deal with these angles in a strategic and sustainable way. “
Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra
WHAT ARE YOU DOING In the mid-2000s, Jeri Lynne Johnson was having trouble getting a job as a conductor. After a test, she recalled, a man told her that although she was clearly talented, she – a black woman – would be very difficult to sell to the public. So she formed her own orchestra.
Johnson said his Philadelphia-based set has an advantage in diversity just because “we live the work”. Their involvement with the community is framed as “inreach” – creating as many avenues as possible to bring children especially to the world of classical music. “The goal is to facilitate the creative process,” said Johnson. “What I want to do is give people a glimpse of the feeling and the power of what it is like.”
LESSONS LEARNED “The most important thing that these legacy institutions need to genuinely consider is: who do you serve?” Said Johnson. “And they need to be honest about it. If they really want to serve the past and the tradition and keep it, do it. If you decide that you want to serve the present and the future, this will start a cascade of subsequent questions. “