Choose Wisely: Considerations for Programming Works by Composers from Historically Underrepresented Communities
Clinic Synopsis:
Historic inequities reflect lopsided trends in current academic music programming. Although efforts to diversify repertoire gain momentum, the process for doing so remains misunderstood. With evidence provided by case studies, programming data, and prior interviews with contemporary composers, this presentation proposes key considerations when programming works by composers from underrepresented backgrounds.
Cody Edgerton
- Biographical Information
Cody Edgerton is the Assistant Director of Bands at University of Southern Mississippi. Previously, Cody earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at Michigan State University and a Master of Music degree at Western Michigan University. He also served for two years as the assistant director at Grandville High School in Grandville, MI, and two years as the middle and high school band director for Elk Rapids Schools in Elk Rapids, MI. Cody attended Michigan State University for an undergraduate degree in Music Education, and he is originally from Charlotte, MI.
Henry L. Dorn - Biographical Information
Henry Dorn (b. Little Rock, AR) is a composer who builds distinct narratives based on lived experiences of being a musician and African American, taking ideas and putting them in places where they do not seem to belong. Dorn has enjoyed performances by noteworthy ensembles across the country, including the Minnesota Orchestra, the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet, Aizuri Quartet, Argento Ensemble, and the Dallas Wind Symphony.
Beginning August 2023, Dorn will be Assistant Professor of Music, Conductor of the St. Olaf Band at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. He is the former assistant director to the Memphis Area Youth Wind Ensemble, and former director to the Memphis-based Nu Chamber Collective. Dorn has also worked with musicians of the United States Army Field Band, the United States Air Force Band, and has guest conducted the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” He’s proud to have received multiple awards for his unique style, including an Inaugural Future of Music Faculty Fellowship from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an ASCAP Foundation’s Morton Gould Young Composer Award.
Dorn holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting degree from Michigan State University and has completed studies at The University of Memphis and at Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. He is currently a doctoral candidate in composition at Michigan State University. He has studied with Kevin L. Sedatole, Harlan D. Parker, Kraig Alan Williams (conducting), David Biedenbender, Ricardo Lorenz, Alexis Bacon, Oscar Bettison, Kamran Ince, and Jack Cooper (composition).
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