Musical Philosophy

Everyone is inherently musical. 

From our first breaths on Earth, our heartbeats intrinsically connect us to music. Instruments are only extensions of the music we innately know.

As we are all linked through music, everyone has a fundamental right to accessible and inclusive musical experience. The Western European classical music tradition has long since excluded folks on the basis of gender, race, and class, and yet its study continues to dominate the modern landscape of musical learning and experience. 

This should not be the case. 

Western European classical music is not the pinnacle of music. It’s simply a genre. Those whose music and practice exist wholly outside the sphere of “classical” music are just as valuable to study and perform. This includes aural traditions, improvisation practices, and just about any music you’ve ever heard. 

As musicians and as audience members, we must actively unlearn the toxic exclusivity of “classical” music. Our craft is not exclusive. 

No one needs permission to play music, nor enjoy it.