{"id":23993,"date":"2023-03-23T15:22:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T19:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=23993"},"modified":"2023-03-24T14:31:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T18:31:48","slug":"furman-engaged-exploring-the-black-experience-in-classical-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furman-engaged-exploring-the-black-experience-in-classical-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman Engaged: Exploring the Black experience in classical music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kayla Moses \u201924 has been playing the flute since sixth grade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was young, I saw a commercial on TV with someone playing the flute,\u201d Moses said, \u201cand I said, \u2018That\u2019s the instrument I want to play.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Studying the instrument at the South Carolina Governor\u2019s School for the Arts and Humanities and playing in the Furman Symphonic Band<\/a>, the flutist came to appreciate the community that music creates for performers as well as listeners. But Moses, who was the only person of color in the Symphonic Band\u2019s flute section when she joined, also knew that not everyone shares equally in that community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who has studied music has recognized the disparities that exist within the classical music community,\u201d Moses said, \u201cnot just in not having access to certain things but also having to work harder to be accepted or feeling isolated being the only person of color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isolation and Optimism<\/h3>\n

Those disparities are the focus of \u201cClassical Music and the Black Experience<\/a>,\u201d the short documentary Moses, a Japanese studies major from\u00a0Florence, South Carolina, will present on April 14 during the 15th annual\u00a0Furman Engaged<\/a>, a day dedicated to highlighting diverse and immersive learning experiences.<\/p>\n

Moses worked on the documentary during a digital storytelling course led by Mary Sturgill.<\/p>\n

\u201cKayla\u2019s story shows the importance of having inclusive spaces,\u201d said Sturgill. \u201cNo change is ever going to take place until light is shed on the subject. So, it\u2019s stories like hers that need to be told, and what better place to start than in a storytelling class?”<\/p>\n

Moses interviewed some of her fellow musicians, including Taryn Marks \u201923 and Xavier Johnson \u201924. Each had unique experiences, but common themes emerged.<\/p>\n

\"Xavier

Xavier Johnson \u201924, drum major for the Paladin Regiment Marching Band, in a scene from “Classical Music and the Black Experience,” a documentary by Kayla Moses ’24.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBeing at Furman can be pretty isolating as a student of color already, but (especially) when you\u2019re in the music community,\u201d Johnson, who plays saxophone in the Symphonic Band and is the drum major for the Paladin Regiment Marching Band<\/a>, said in the film.<\/p>\n

Love and Music<\/h3>\n

For the musicians, that bright side includes the power of music to unite diverse people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love music so much that we want to play it,\u201d Marks said in the film. \u201cThat\u2019s what ties us together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marks, who wants to advocate for composers in marginalized communities as a music professor, concluded \u201cClassical Music and the Black Experience\u201d with a call to action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ultimate goal is justice for all, making sure that everyone has a space, everyone is included, and there isn’t hatred in the world,\u201d she said in the documentary. \u201cNo matter what occupation we\u2019re in, we need to keep pushing for that. Love and music bind us together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furman Engaged and Clearly Furman: The Campaign for Our Third Century<\/h3>\n

We\u2019re excited to connect the 15th Annual Furman Engaged with our campaign launch<\/a> to amplify and showcase all that our students work toward during the year, and how deserving they are of our support. Join us for this signature event and others April 13-15 as we feature the best that Furman has to offer. Learn more at www.furman.edu\/campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Furman Engaged: April 14<\/a><\/h4>\n

Furman Campaign Launch Weekend: April 13-15<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A documentary by Kayla Moses \u201924 shares stories of challenge and optimism from students of color. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":24057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1945],"class_list":["post-23993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-furman-engaged"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}