On today's episode, I continue my conversation with Joshua Nichols. Though we disagree on hot topics like diversity, equity and inclusion and the impact they have on classical music, we have a respectful conversation about broader issues like the need to listen deeply, how to determine what good art is, and how we cannot know now what music of today will stand the test of time.

Topics in this episode include:

• The need to use new methods of teaching to avoid stifling learning outcomes
• Listening deeply
• Good music allows us to hear something new every time we listen
• How we decide what good music is, even when it is brand new
• The Sculpture's Gaze
• Unity and integrity in music and art
• How art speaks to (is in conversation with) other art
• Making the best art you can
• We don't know what current art will stand the test of time

Dr. Joshua Daniel Nichols is a composer, organist, pianist, and teacher

Currently based in Tucson, AZ, JOshua earned a D.M.A. from the University of Arizona's Fred Fox School of Music in Composition, studying with Professor Daniel Asia. He holds two M.M. degrees, one in Composition (Floridat Atlantic University, studied with Dr. Kevin Wilt) and one in Organ Performance (Mississippi College, studied with Dr. Robert Knupp.) He received his B.A. in Organ Performance (studied with Ms. Carol Durham) from Belhaven University. He is Artistic Fellow and Director of Technology at the Center for American Culture and Ideas.

As a composer, Josh's compositions have been featured and sought after around the United States. He has been commissioned to write ballet and dance music, as well as chamber percussion, and chamber orchestra. Critically acclaimed, he released an album of Summit Records titled, "Metropolis: The Piano Music of Joshua Nichols" featuring his major piano works to date. Josh draws on an eclectic musical background in film, commercial, and concert music, as well as classical forms and harmonic structures. Recent notable compositions include: Metropolis, Variations on Hatikvah, the Dover Sonata, and What Tongue Can Tell? His music is exciting, palatable for both regular concert goesr and academics alike, and deeply expressive.

As organist, Josh has emphasized his role in church music both as an accompanist of congregational song and service musician to elevate the service and liturgy. He not only prepares solo repertoire, but also is an active clinician in church music, improvisation, harmonization, and directing choirs.

As pianist, Josh continues to play as an instrumental and vocal accompanist, as well as in musical theater. He is also a clinician in piano improvisation, harmonization, and vocal coaching.

Joshua's website: www.joshdnichols.com

The Center for American Culture and Ideas: https://thecaci.org/

This episode is part one of my conversation with Joshua Nichols, an artistic fellow at the Center for American Culture and Ideas. Get ready for a deeply phiolosophical discussion about the pragmatic versus the beautiful, the nature of transcedence, the democratization of art, whether culture should be curated - and by whom, and who decides what is good. Sometimes Josh and I see eye to eye, and sometimes we don't. I'd love tfor you to share your thoughts on this episode!

*Since this episode aired, I have learned more about MuseScore's updates, and it is apparently better than I thought, so please disregard my disparaging comments.

Visit the episode page on our website to get full show notes.

Dawn Walters is a mezzo-soprano and composer working and living in East Yorkshire, England. She shares how composing and performing art song builds community. She did this through participation in the Leeds Lieder Festival in addition to being a teaching artist with the Maritime Primary Outreach Program. We also chit-chat about what it's like to return to school as an older student and some of the challenges we've faced as moms trying to build music careers.

Topics in this episode include:

• Leeds Lieder Festival
• How poets, composers, and performers can collaborate to bring attention to important topics
• Maritime Primary Outreach teaching artist
• How to think about expanding a small project into something much larger
• Serving underprivileged communities
• Serving an organization by customizing a project to match its mission
• Why children need access to music and other arts
• Going back to school as an older student
• The need for consistency & resilience, plodding on and keeping your nose to the grindstone

An alto soloist and small ensemble singer, Dawn Walters currently performs with Robert Hollingworth's The 24, as well as singing weekly services as part of a professional quartet in the York Oratory, and as an Alto Lay Clerk with Sheffield Cathedral Choir. She is an awarded and published choral composer who also sets Shakespeare songs and sonnets, which have been performed across the UK and in Europe, and broadcast on BBC radio. Dawn is also a deputy lay clerkfor several cathedrals, including York Minster and Bradford Cathedral, and performs with vocal ensemble Allegoria.

You can find Dawn at: dawnwalters.wordpress.com

For this episode, I interviewed Jan Mittelstaedt, the director of the composition project In Good Hands, which is sponsored by the Cascadia Composers group out of Portland, Oregon, part of the National Association of Composers USA. Unfortunately, there was a problem with Jan's original sound which I did not notice until I was working on the production of this episode. The sound quality did not meet my standards, so I decided to go a different route with this episode. I made a transcript of my interview with Jan, which you can find at The Musicking Community website, or on our Substack page. In the rest of the episode, I will share why I personally find the In Good Hands project to be so important, which will involve some storytelling about my own musical history.

http://themusickingcommunity.com/2024/12/30/episode-19-the-in-good-hands-project/

Edgar GIrtain IV is an American living in Chile who recently collaborated with musicians in France. He shares with us how this cross-cultural collaboration came about, as well as some of the challenges faced by musicians in the global south and how composers can make music more equitable. I'm sure you will find it an enlightening and inspiring conversation! I encourage you to visit Edgar's website so you can stay up-to-date with his latest projects. He has an album of violin and piano music coming out soon that you do not want to miss!

Whether you are an avid listener to classical music or someone who is just curious, whether you are a classical musician or part of an organization that presents classical music, you need the Live Music Project! You will find out how you can find the classical music concerts you want to see, how you can list your own concerts in the calendar, and how you can support your local community's music scene by becoming a remote volunteer. Listen and find out why the Live Music Project is vital to the future of classical music and our communities!

https://themusickingcommunity.com/2024/11/21/episode-17-why-you-need-the-live-music-project/

https://themusickingcommunity.com/2024/10/15/episode-15-addressing-gender-disparity-in-opera/