JAVS Summer 2021

from the movie Do the Right Thing with his ghetto blaster. Are we creating these relevancies for our audiences? Are we using our creative powers not just to create the music but to explain the music? That’s what we can do as violists. What are some other ways we can address white privilege at our music schools and create a more diverse, inclusive culture amongst our students and faculty? At Eastman we’re already exploring these ideas. I’m active on committees that will research music for our teachers to teach. For instance, with the freshman quartet seminar where students are learning string quartets, usually you begin with Haydn, Mozart, and learn basic quartet skills. Why can’t you do that with George Walker’s Lyric Suite ? Why can’t you use composers such as Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges in order to teach basic ensemble skills: how to play a simple accompaniment well without having to worry about a sea of notes going by. That music can be used as part of teaching an ensemble class. On the DMA aural exam, having more examples of music by women, POC, and LGBTQIA is in motion. We will include more examples of rhythm and harmony from Black cultures in the teaching of rhythm and harmony. Manhattan School of Music is producing operas by Black composers, they’re adding faculty of color, they’ve given their whole curriculum for the school year over to music of Black composers. Eastman is making changes in that direction, including hiring more people of color even as adjunct. There are definitely hard, core issues that still need work. Alumni at Eastman have had to face the fact that they are one of only 2–5 BIPOC total in the student population. This is unacceptable. There will be greater efforts in Admissions, and towards looking for scholarship money for students of color. There needs to be a more viable and funded Black students’ union.

We cannot continue to face these problems out of guilt, but with the strong desire to see the culture of music match the culture of society. For those of us who survived the stigma of inclusion by exception, you never really get rid of feeling “less than.” I was told by the Dean of Duke University that hired me for the Ciompi Quartet: “You know the only reason you have this job is because you’re Black.” I said to him I thought I won an audition, which I had. Moving forward, we own what exists, we accept the truth, and we act to enrich and enable equity, for all our sakes. The moment is now—we should all be on the train as it leaves the station. Violist Leanne Darling is a performer, improvisor, composer and teacher who is comfortable in the concert hall, the nightclub, and the art space. She teaches at SUNY Buffalo, performs, and leads creativity workshops in the Buffalo area. Dr. Gregory K. Williams is on the viola and chamber music faculty at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), He also performs as Assistant principal violist of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, principal violist of the Berkshire Opera Festival, and violist of the Golden Williams Duo.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 37, 2021 Online Issue

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