I am thrilled to announce that I have received the Performing Social Justice Seed Grant through Roosevelt University City College of Performing Arts, and have been offered a residency at the InterArts Center in Malmö, Sweden this August. In Sweden I will begin work on Concert Music Documentary: Refugees in Sweden in collaboration with Swedish vocal quartet Åkervinda. Concert Music Documentary: Refugees in Sweden will be an electroacoustic concert music documentary that will record the live’s of refugees living in centers throughout Sweden. This will not be a traditional documentary with video footage; instead it will feature audio-recorded interviews and interactions with people living in these refugee centers. These audio recordings will be the source material for a fixed media piece performed in tandem with live musicians from Åkervinda and hopefully an instrumental chamber ensemble.
Social justice driven work often ends up accomplishing one of two things: 1) it reaches within a community to provide solidarity or 2) it educates people about the problems the community is facing, and hopefully inspires action to change their circumstances. The victims of the refugee crisis are equally in need of both solidarity and action, and music as a form of communication is effective at accomplishing both. Concert Music Documentary- Refugees in Sweden intends to focus equally on these two important and necessary goals.
Being inspired by the heroism of refugees and the unimaginable hardships they face regularly, we are hoping to provide solidarity within the community by opening opportunities for refugees to share their stories through music. Also being disgusted by the overall reaction from the west with the refugee crisis, we want to educate people on the misperceived threat of refugees toward western society by humanizing their experiences. I am so honored to have this opportunity.
Social justice driven work often ends up accomplishing one of two things: 1) it reaches within a community to provide solidarity or 2) it educates people about the problems the community is facing, and hopefully inspires action to change their circumstances. The victims of the refugee crisis are equally in need of both solidarity and action, and music as a form of communication is effective at accomplishing both. Concert Music Documentary- Refugees in Sweden intends to focus equally on these two important and necessary goals.
Being inspired by the heroism of refugees and the unimaginable hardships they face regularly, we are hoping to provide solidarity within the community by opening opportunities for refugees to share their stories through music. Also being disgusted by the overall reaction from the west with the refugee crisis, we want to educate people on the misperceived threat of refugees toward western society by humanizing their experiences. I am so honored to have this opportunity.