Derrick Fox
Session 1
Wednesday March 9th - 5pm
Acknowledgement, Affirmation and Action: Cultivating an Inclusive Choral Community
Session Description
Unpacking the bias in our curriculum and in ourselves is a difficult but necessary process in creating and fostering an inclusive choral community. Concepts presented in this session will help you ACKNOWLEDGE your biases (personal and curricular) identify blind spots that may minoritize and marginalize singers in your ensembles or classrooms, outline methods that support the AFFIRMATION of varied lived experiences represented in your ensembles and offer ACTION steps that support diversity equity, inclusion, access and belonging. Learning how to outline personal and systemic bias, discovering methods that support varied lived experiences and creating actionable steps that support Diversity, Equity, Access, Inclusion and Belonging are vital steps in breaking the cycle of oppression and cultivating inclusive choral communities.
Clinician Bio
Dr. Derrick Fox is the Director of Choral Activities and Distinguished Associate Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He has conducted, presented and lectured in venues, conferences and institutions across the United States and internationally. He created the Professional Choral Collective to collect and create learning activities and teaching strategies for choral music educators during the pandemic of 2020. He partnered with the Country Music Association Foundation to create the 2020 Unified Voices for Music Education Initiative.