Page 49 - APAP - Inside Arts - Conference 2020

The Westerlies
SAMANTHA POLLACK
Director of Programming Washington Performing Arts
Classical music organizations need to reassess their real commitment to integrity, and especially not turn a blind eye to it. We all know of the recent exposés of poorly-to- criminally behaving artists, that more stories will certainly come out, and that behind each of those artists were organizations that knew of this behavior and did nothing. We need to create safe spaces for everyone in our orbit, from artists to staff to patrons.
My advice to the field is: artist deep-dives. Have artists spend quality time in your community,
with your community, in a
variety of ways, creating multi- dimensional relationships. Use whatever time they are there to tell the story of why this artist is special beyond the trope of “they’re an excellent artist.”
As for voices that need to be heard, I’m not going to choose
one person, but rather use the blanket field of “composers.” Composers are the first line of storytellers, creating something from nothing, interpreting
the world around them and transforming that response in a way which represents their humanity.
FAVORITE COMPOSER: Well, not just because I’m a former trumpeter, but I would have to say Stravinsky. His ability to flit between delicate passages with a simple melody and complete time-signature-twisting rhythmic and sonic mania suits my preferred style of listening, where you never really know what’s coming.
CONFERENCE 2020 INSIDE ARTS 47