How to Create Inclusive, Culturally Responsive Virtual Gatherings

Description

“INTEMPO was one of two Connecticut arts organizations to have been invited to perform in the Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America series. We took this as an opportunity to rethink our annual cultural crossover concert, which had been canceled because of the pandemic, presenting it as a live—but virtual—concert. The concert featured INTEMPO students and teaching artists in a soundscape across the Caribbean and Central, South, and North America, and included music arranged for marimba, cajón, charango, violin, guitar, and voice. Repertoire highlighted the music of Chabuca Granda (Peru), Carlos Mejia Godoy (Nicaragua), among others, reflecting the cultures of the Hispanic diasporic communities INTEMPO serves.

The session will focus on choosing culturally responsive repertoire, readying students virtually for a live performance, setting up technology for a live virtual performance, the necessity of gaining true buy-in from relevant partners, and using a culturally responsive monologue during a performance to engage parents and community members; we will share a catalog listing repertoire outside of the Western canon that we have orchestrated specifically for our students, which embraces and celebrates their cultural heritages and which can be used as a resource by other music-education organizations.”

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