Disruption. Action. Change: Classically Black Series-wrap

To conclude the Disruption. Action. Change. series, the Classically Black Podcast  has produced a series wrap-up podcast episode. Join Classically Black Podcast hosts Dalanie Harris and Katie Brown as they unpack and discuss the input of the series’ guests while offering insight into how the next generation of arts leaders might use the tools provided in these sessions to embody equity in their work. Click below to listen!

About Classically Black:

Classically Black Podcast shows listeners the world of classical music through the eyes of Dalanie and Katie: two Black classical musicians on the rise looking to share their perspective with a new and interesting twist. Classically Black Podcast centers Black voices and challenges ideas of what the field of classical music looks like. Additionally, by including humor and references to popular culture, the hosts aim to make classical music more approachable to listeners who are not classically trained. At its core, Classically Black Podcast was created with the purpose of showing Black musicians that even in an industry that so clearly lacks diversity, they are visible and their voices matter.

Katie Brown is a violist hailing from Evanston, IL. She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where she studied Viola Performance and Music Education. She studied viola with George Taylor. Katie received her degree in Music Education from Illinois State University where she studied viola with Dr. Katherine Lewis. Katie has performed, given lectures, and lecture recitals in cities around the world including Wellington, Poznań, Seoul, Nashville, and Salt Lake City. An advocate for access to quality music education for aspiring musicians of all backgrounds, Katie teaches in the El Sistema inspired programs RocMusic and Bravo Buddies. Aside from playing and teaching, Katie is co-host of Classically Black Podcast, a classical music podcast that discusses classical music from the Black perspective. Katie is currently a fellow with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

Dalanie Harris is a double bassist and podcaster from Los Angeles, CA. She began her musical studies with piano at age 7, and later switched to double bass at age 12. She has played in orchestras all over Los Angeles, including the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. Her accolades include winning first prize in the 2014 NAACP Act-So Regional Competition, and second place in the 2015 NANM Young Artists Competition. After graduating from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Harris went on to study with double bass virtuoso James VanDemark at the Eastman School of Music. In November 2018, along with friend and fellow Eastman student Katie Brown, Harris co-founded Classically Black Podcast, which brings listeners into the world of classical music through the eyes of the cohosts: two Black classical musicians on the rise looking to share their perspective with a new and interesting twist. As a duo, Harris and Brown have hosted and presented at conferences promoting equity and inclusion for Black musicians across the country.