Gearing up for our forthcoming book, your host, Dr. Emily Williams Burch and co-host Alex Gartner welcome choral leadership author, Dr. Ramona M. Wis, to the podcast. In this installment of the Pre-Release Book Tour, Dr. Wis gives tangible examples and evidence to rejuvenate us as leaders. We talk about the way people are led, the importance of mindfulness, management versus leadership, and a slew of quotes to empower each of us no matter where we are in our professional (and personal) journey.

Learn more about Dr. Wis https://www.ramonawis.com/about or find her book https://www.ramonawis.com/publications. Read more about her choirs here: https://www.northcentralcollege.edu/choirs-and-choruses 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ONqukEKv9YU 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Jasmine Edwards (she/her/hers) is a creative arts therapy coordinator working as a music therapist within a pediatric medical setting in New York City. Jasmine holds a Bachelor of Music in music therapy from Florida State University and a Master of Arts in music therapy from New York University. She has experience working in private practice, outpatient, school-based, and medical settings, and is trained in NICU-MT, First Sounds: Rhythm, Breath, Lullaby, and Austin Vocal Psychotherapy. Jasmine has a vested interest in integrating the tenets of cultural humility into music therapy clinical practice and pedagogy. She also has served as an adjunct faculty member at Howard University, New York University, Nazareth College, and Montclair State University.

In this episode, we cover Ms Edward’s story into Music Therapy along with the importance of being a creative arts therapist, considerations of a Black therapist, and her research area of cultural humility in clinic practice and pedagogy. 

Read more about Ms Edwards https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/people/jasmine-edwards.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RGQXFGwFrik 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Return guest, Maria A. Ellis, catches us up on all she's been doing - including her real-life Sister Act story - and then guides us through the steps and tools to help us all diversify our programs.

In this episode we address:

Learn more about and connect with Maria A. Ellis at @girlconductor on social media and at https://girlconductor.com/

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/L7ap5qBA0BU 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content, and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Composer, conductor, equity coach and nonprofit strategist committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, meet this month’s Advocacy and Collaboration Curated Episode, Arreon A. Harley-Emerson. 

Mr. Harley-Emerson is the Director of Music and Operations of the Choir School of Delaware where he is responsible for the musical components of the renowned Choir School program as well as the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Committed to the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), Mr. Harley-Emerson has established a thriving consultancy to assist arts and culture nonprofit organizations in remaining relevant in the 21st century. His work includes longitudinal studies, strategic planning, board governance, resource and asset development, and board diversification - and we talk about it all in this incredible conversation!

Learn more about and connect with Mr. Harley-Emerson https://equitysings.com and choirschoolofdelaware.org.  

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KHF649tk-rQ 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

What happens with creativity and practicality interest? Composer and educator, Dr. Quincy Hilliard is here to share stories and inspire you! An accomplished band composer and passionate educator, Dr. Hilliard talks about the impact of delayed gratification in our careers and the power that comes from experiences, asking for help, investing in a community, and sticking at it. With nearly 40 years of teaching experience, Dr. Hilliard is known by all to say, “We don’t run, we don’t bend, we don’t break.” These stories will give you the staying and sticking power you need to change lives through the power of music education. 

Learn more about Dr. Hilliard https://music.louisiana.edu/node/246 or watch him in action https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L2anTpbAzHXdRj-2BazyhTSpNRK2Rlhn/view 

& https://drive.google.com/file/d/1THRvnNb1E_N_LhvqpogHFPoC8uNzqV7y/view?ts=5ccf7c66.  Find the band guidelines we discussed at EmilyBurch.org/podcast then click on the Google Drive image. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dfUCg4BztpM 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content, and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

A live recording from the ACDA National Retreat for Children’s and Youth Community Choir Directors - this past weekend in Tuscan, AZ. Alex Gartner and I presented our first session with concepts directly from our upcoming book. The session was called: Communicating Your Value: Car Sales, Choirs, and Everything in Between.

Every octavo is different, yet as music specialists, we have the tools we need to teach each song with ease - we know all the tricks to teach musical concepts and create a beautiful sound. Yet, when it comes to building support for these same choirs, sometimes our bag of tricks doesn’t run as deep. Because most of our degrees are in music, donning a business-like mindset in order to build support for our organizations can feel daunting. In this session, we step out of the classroom and into the community with confidence by exploring how to communicate your organization’s value to attract new supporters.

We hope you enjoy this special recording - since it was live on Alex’s end, forgive the odd audio at times - but you’ll get the key concepts and walk away with the skills to communicate clearly, accessibly, and concisely with a variety of supporters. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content, and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

According to Music Educator and Advocacy Consultant, Dr. John Benham, regardless of your situation, there is always a solution and someone to help. His key recommendation and requirement: always keeping the student at the center of any discussion. In this Advocacy & Collaboration episode, learn about key issues and strategies for building, saving, and restoring music programs. 

Learn more about Dr. Benham: http://www.save-music.org/ or find his book https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/music-advocacy-book-g9199 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zpoixZSjFzs 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

What better time than the start of a new year than on some personal development! In this episode, speaker, trainer, facilitator, coach, and author/poet, Carrie Addington, shares the four skills of “Daring Facilitation” based on Brene Brown’s Daring Leadership. 

As we explore vulnerability, values, trust, and failure related to facilitation, life, and work, we get the opportunity to really define the Annie Dillard quote, “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” What will you do to illuminate the world today? This episode can help you define that!

Why all this talk of “illumination?” Did you know your host is a co-host of another podcast called “The Illuminate Podcast” - which seeks to illuminate stories of people doing awesome things in their community and around the world? Well, in a recent episode over there, a lot of music education transfers were made, so… this episode is a special replay from episode 112 of “The Illuminate Podcast.” Can’t wait to hear what you think! Make sure to follow and subscribe to the Illuminate Podcast to catch awesome stories and guests like this! 

Carrie Addington:

www.carrieaddington.com

@CarrieAddingtonPoet

*To learn more about Daring Leadership, please reach out to Carrie's co-presenter Carla Illiescu, founder of potential. Leadership. Development. Workshops. Coaching. 

http://potential.partners

Follow The Illuminate Podcast:

https://sandyboyproductions.com/illuminate-podcast/ 

Illuminate Podcast on Instagram

Join the Music (ed) Matters Community:

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content, and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

The perfect way to kick-off the New Year - an inspiring story with tangible tips, advice, and the inspiration you need to #dothework - whatever that may be for you! In this episode, Dr. Folta shares the story of building “Voices of the Valley,” a children’s choir organization in Columbus, GA. Through the VOV story, we hear about Dr. Folta’s own journey from not being able to read music in college and how that experience informs how she teaches music to her own choir now — more holistically and with real-life applicability. 

Learn more about Dr. Folta: 

http://www.voicesofthevalleychorus.org/vov-staff.html 

http://www.voicesofthevalleychorus.org 

https://music.columbusstate.edu/

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jOOCZy7Pf2w 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content, and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

An episode that could have a dozen names, this one is a perfectly powerful way to wrap up the 2021 year. This episode resonates like the Black Panther line, "Show them who you are!" Get ready to "find your inspired life" and features life coach and lifetime musician, Jackie "Sunshine" Hamilton. 

Find out more about Jackie Hamilton at https://www.jacquelynhamilton.com/. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iBrG6j_LNKY 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special pre-release book content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/. 

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff