Fall Issue
CMEA Magazine FALL ISSUE 2022 VOLUME 76 • NUMBER 1
20 22
Teacher Voice by Zack
Pitt-Smith
CMEA Urban Schools Representative This is the second episode of “TEACHER VOICE” a podcast about music education in urban public schools. One of the most significant challenges, and yet rewarding experiences of teaching music in city schools, is being a part of a culturally diverse community. However, we know all too well that some members of each community are better served by our public institutions than others. As educators we have a lot of work to do looking at our own practices and finding community partners already doing good work. We can find thriving examples if we look outside of our classrooms and at community-based arts institutions. In today’s episode, I have a conversation with Angela Wellman, award-winning trombonist, scholar, music educator, and activist. She founded the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music in 2005 to ensure that Black children and adults have access to culturally resonant, affordable music education. In our conversation, she
explores the impact of racism and white supremacy on access to music education for Black students. I ask her, what can teachers in traditional classrooms learn from her life’s work? She gives us a glimpse into her career, starting in Kansas City and winding up in Oakland, weaving personal stories with her philosophies on education.
“When Black folks’ lives are lifted, everyone is lifted.” Thank you for listening and stay tuned for the next episode when I interview Fernando Pullum, lifelong music educator and founder of the Pullum Arts Center in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.
at San José
State University find more information at sjsu.edu/music
degrees
or contact us at music@sjsu.edu 408-924-4673
Music, MM
Music, BA Music, BM Composition Concentration Jazz Studies Concetration
Fall Issue 2022
Music Education Concentration 25 Performance Concentration
r e i m e r P s Global Music? California What Got You Hooked on
by Dr. Will Coppola CMEA Global Music Education Representative From time to time, it’s nice to think back to those very first memories that forever changed your life as a musician. Thinking about those moments as a global music specialist, there’s one experience that stands above the rest: it was when I had the privilege of attending a Wagogo music festival in Chamwino, Central Tanzania, in 2016. There was something about this music—the music of the Wagogo people—that touched me like no other musical experience ever had before. To this day, I’m not sure what was most impactful for me: whether it was the inseparable relationship between singing, dancing, playing, and pageantry (what is called ngoma); the pure joy and power of the sung harmonies that would literally resonate within my body; or the elimination of the us/them binary between musicians and audiences (something I’d commonly feel imprisoned by in many Western performances, and something I fully expected to feel as a cultural outsider). Whatever it was, the Wagogo people taught me that music is never just about the music; it’s always about the people. It’s about community and communication. It’s about exchanging and sharing. So, for this issue of CMEA Magazine, I want to share with you a part of this unforgettable experience that the Wagogo people so kindly shared with me. Each summer, in the city of Chamwino, a Wagogo Music Festival is organized under the direction of the Chamwino Arts Center (www.chamwinoarts.org). Here is footage from their 13th annual festival, held this past July. I hope to return one day soon to experience this music once again in person.
So, spend an afternoon “getting lost” in a musical practice that is at the same time intricate and welcoming. Allow it to push your boundaries of what you know (or think you know) about what music is or can be. And to support the ongoing work of cultural exchange in and around Chamwino, Tanzania, visit www.chamwinoconnect.org. 30
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The California Music Education Foundation is a 501(c)3 California Nonprofit Public Benefit corporation that supports charitable and educational efforts to promote quality music instruction for the children and adults of California.
To donate, or to receive more information, visit:
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CMEA Magazine