Welcome to lucky episode number 7 of MN Opera's The Score. Today, Paige, Lee and Rocky are joined by not one, but two, legendary guests! We are honored to speak with composer Dr. Adolphus Hailstork and librettist and poet Dr. Herbert Martin, two incredibly accomplished Black artists and titans of the classical music scene. We'll talk with them about their decades of experience in the industry, how they believe the industry can change to allow space for more Black artists in the future, and all about their new piece Pity These Ashes: Tulsa 1921-2021, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Also, this past Tuesday was the first anniversary of George Floyd's murder. We'll reflect on a death which shook the world and how it's still affecting us and our community one year later. (Spoiler alert: It's complicated and we get a little spicy.) And, as always, we'll send you off into Memorial Day Weekend with a PBandJ, a moment of Pure Black Joy. This week, we'll talk a brand new honor for the late, great Chadwick Boseman and Rocky's obsession with this year's surprisingly Black Eurovision Song Contest. Also, don't miss Pity These Ashes: Tulsa 1921-2021 on Saturday, June 19 at 7pm EDT, presented by The Greene Space in partnership with The Harlem Chamber Players, Harlem Stage and the Harlem School of the Arts and featuring mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges. Get your tickets below! Timestamps The Murder of George Floyd: One Year On - 0:44:20 Conversation with Drs. Hailstork and Martin - 0:38:00 PBandJ - 1:08:48 Links Pity These Ashes: Tulsa, 1921 to 2021, Saturday, June 19 at 7pm EDT (https://thegreenespace.org/event/pity-these-ashes-tulsa-100th-anniversary/ (Tickets)) Remembrance and Restitution: A Conversation on Juneteenth, the Tulsa Race Massacre, and Their Legacy in African American History, Thursday, June 10 at 12pm EDT (https://www.facebook.com/thedreamunfinished (Watch)) "Emails show Minneapolis police chief coordinated with PR pros to fight council, protect budget" (https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/05/24/with-budget-on-the-line-minneapolis-police-chief-coordinated-with-political-operatives-to-lobby-the-city-council-emails-show/?eType=EmailBlastContentandeId=2bc2cbd2-10ff-4617-b054-bb44ec07aee0 (Minnesota Reformer)) "Howard University Names College of Fine Arts After Chadwick Boseman" (https://www.cbr.com/howard-university-college-fine-arts-chadwick-boseman/ (CBR.com)) Watch Eurovision Song Contest (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRpjHHu8ivVWs73uxHlWwFA (YouTube) and https://www.peacocktv.com/ (Peacock)) If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also leaving a 5-star REVIEW is a great way to help get the word out. For more info about the exciting EDI work happening at MN Opera, please visit https://mnopera.org/edi/ (mnopera.org/edi). Email your questions or comments to [email protected]

Hi, Scorekeepers! It's episode 6 of Minnesota Opera's THE SCORE! On this week's ep, Paige, Lee and Rocky are all vaxxed up and just in time it seems for the world to start opening up again. We'll talk about the huge impact this will have on the arts and live performance and, of course, our sanity. Next, we're joined by the lovely and talented Pablo Siqueiros, Associate Director of Public Programs at MN Opera. He'll talk about some of the lessons he's taking away from this crazy year and giving us all some insight into the exciting work coming out of MN Opera's Impact Department in the next few months. Then he joins us for the first installment of the brand new game show, FIRE THAT CANON! We're not sure if you've heard, but some of the more popular pieces in the operatic canon are a bit problematic. We take a look at three operas through the lens of civic dramaturgy and ask can we perform them responsibly or do we need to fire them out of a cannon! And lastly, we've got a PBandJ, a little snack of Pure Black Joy for your soul, this week honoring the incomparable Phylicia Rashad, the new Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Howard University! Timestamps The Return of Live Performance - 01:05 Interview with Pablo Siqueiros - 23:06 Fire That Canon! - 48:56 PBandJ - 1:24:09 Links https://soundcloud.com/mnop-education (Opera Connections Podcast) (Soundcloud) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLyh2jCvzG0 (Scott Joplin's Treemonisha )- Houston Grand Opera (Youtube) If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also leaving a 5-star REVIEW is a great way to help get the word out. For more info about the exciting EDI work happening at MN Opera, please visit https://mnopera.org/edi/ (mnopera.org/edi). Email your questions or comments to [email protected]

On this week's episode of The Score, Paige, Lee and Rocky unpack their complicated feelings around last week's verdict heard 'round the world before turning their attention to the incredible art and artists you can find right here in the Twin Cities. They're joined by renowned violinist Emilia Mettenbrink to talk about growing up in Minneapolis, her experiences as a Black woman in classical music, and the Tiny Balcony Concerts, a series of concerts she performed from her home during lockdown that helped a community stay connected through the darkest and most isolating of times. And then, as always, we end on a moment of Pure Black Joy! Join us, won't you? Timestamps: Reflecting on the Chauvin Verdict: 01:09 Emilia Mettenbrink Interview: 34:29 PBandJ: 01:23:50 Links: Tiny Balcony Concerts (https://www.tinybalconyconcerts.org/ (Website)) Tiny Balcony Concerts (https://www.facebook.com/tinybalconyconcerts/ (Facebook)) Ballet Co. Laboratory Presents An American in Paris June 5 and 6 (https://www.balletcolaboratory.org/season (Get Tickets!)) https://blackrestaurantweeks.com/ (Black Restaurant Week) https://mcecreations.store/ (MCE Creations)

What's up, Scorekeepers! It's week 4 of The Score! It's been another depressing and infuriating week here in Minneapolis and on this week's ep, Lee, Paige and Rocky do their best to absorb the shock of seeing another young Black man's life taken by police officers in their community. Rest in Power, Daunte Wright, Sr. (Please scroll down in the show notes to see ways you can help Daunte's family and the Brooklyn Center community.) Next, they tackle Amazon Prime's ultraviolent, new horror show Them, a series which begs the question who exactly is the violent degradation of Black bodies in art for? And finally, after a hard week, as always we'll all head into the weekend with a moment of Pure Black Joy. Let's do it to it! Timestamps Daunte Wright - 01:10 Them and the Banality of Black Trauma in Art - 29:51 PBandJ: Uplifting the Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium - 1:02:31 Links https://www.gofundme.com/f/dauntewright?pc=tw_socialandutm_source=twitterandutm_medium=socialandutm_campaign=bcgfm_tw_fund_dauntes-funeral-and-burial-costandfbclid=IwAR0bfFdWHW0ajV9MpCas42HyK4Bf30ZRFuQhBwQp0L1LhuiRg04TZVyVSSM (Donate to the Daunte Wright Sr. Memorial Fund) https://www.facebook.com/holisticheaux/posts/2824449254437871 (Support Daunte's son by sending direct help to his mother, Chyna) https://www.facebook.com/Brooklyn-Center-ProtestorResident-Safety-and-Mutual-Aid-104440971771925/ (Check here for updates on how to help Brooklyn Center protesters and residents) http://massreview.org/node/7537 ("Don’t Call African-American Theatre Black Theatre: It’s Like Calling a Dog a Cat") by Dominic Taylor https://www.southernblackgirls.org/ (The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium) If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also leaving a 5-star REVIEW on Apple Podcasts is a great way to help get the word out. For more info about the exciting EDI work happening at MN Opera, please visit https://mnopera.org/edi/ (mnopera.org/edi). Email your questions or comments to [email protected] and we just might read them on the air!

On this week’s episode of The Score, hosts Paige, Lee, and Rocky chat about finding hope through music in these troubled times. They reflect on recent events here in Minneapolis and the blessed relief of MN Opera’s recent MNiatures program. Next, they discuss the responsibility of opera makers and opera lovers alike to join the movement to #StopAsianHate. Then they tackle the question of how to safely and authentically invite BIPOC artists into predominantly white spaces. Diversity is a great first step, but is it effective without either equity or inclusion? And finally, as always, get your weekend off to the best start with a moment of Pure Black Joy… this time with puppets! 'Cuz everybody loves puppets!!! Timestamps: Recent Events in MPLS - 01:02 Reflecting on MNiatures - 23:10 #StopAsianHate - 42:03 Supporting BIPOC Artists - 54:08 PBandJ - 1:29:25 Links Watch MN Opera's MNiatures - https://mnopera.org/mniatures-tiny-operas-big-ideas/ (https://mnopera.org/mniatures-tiny-operas-big-ideas/) Yes 4 Minneapolis - https://yes4minneapolis.org/ (https://yes4minneapolis.org/) Free Bystander Intervention Training - https://www.ihollaback.org/bystanderintervention/ (https://www.ihollaback.org/bystanderintervention/) Opera Philadelphia Channel - https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/2020-2021/ (https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/2020-2021/)

On this week’s episode... It’s Minneapolis Day! Lee is officially a Minnesotan! He gives us his first impressions of his new city and, with the Derek Chauvin trial beginning, what it’s like to move here at this particular moment in history. Plus, Paige takes us inside what’s going on in the local Black arts scene. Then we reflect on Black History Month at Minnesota Opera, and as always we’ll send you into the weekend with a PBandJ: a moment of Pure Black Joy. Timestamps: Welcome to MPLS, Lee! - 00:53 A New Space for Black Table Arts - 19:48 Black History Month Reflections - 32:08 PBandJ - 51:23 Links: Black Table Arts: https://www.blacktablearts.com/ (https://www.blacktablearts.com/) Alanna Morris Van-Tassel (Black Light Research): https://www.alannamvt.com/ (https://www.alannamvt.com/) Superhero Fitness TV: https://www.youtube.com/user/superherofitnesstv/videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/superherofitnesstv/videos) If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also leaving a 5-star REVIEW is a great way to help get the word out. For more info about the exciting EDI work happening at MN Opera, please visit https://mnopera.org/edi/ (mnopera.org/edi).

Ready or not, here we come! It’s the very first episode of Minnesota Opera’s first podcast... THE SCORE! On this week’s episode: Black people? Talking about opera? What is this? Who are these people? And why? All these questions answered and more. Also, there’s a new Diversity Officer at the Metropolitan Opera. Let’s celebrate her! (And pray for her…) Plus, we’ll touch on recent controversies in Paris and Indiana, and as always, we'll send you into the weekend with a PBandJ: a moment of Pure Black Joy. This week's PBandJ: Thaddeus Miles and the https://blackjoy.blog/ (Black Joy Project) Timestamps: Meet Lee, Paige and Rocky: 00:58 Met taps Marcia Sells as new Diversity Officer: 21:38 The Metropolitan Opera Hires Its First Chief Diversity Officer (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/arts/music/met-opera-chief-diversity-officer.html (NY Times)) EDI Controversies in Paris and Indiana: 37:32 New culture war erupts over Paris Opera diversity push (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/08/paris-opera-to-overhaul-recruitment-practices-in-diversity-push?CMP=share_btn_fbandfbclid=IwAR3_789Ntsywit5GMyzMbXdh7bC2_oDpQ4m82Es-mfgqvuM-RbzPBo1kI60 (The Guardian)) Head of Indiana museum resigns (https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/18/us/indianapolis-museum-of-art-ad-resignation-trnd/index.html?utm_term=161373499433107f3483cbaf8andutm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Friday%2C+February+19%2C+2021andutm_medium=emailandutm_campaign=1613734994333andbt_ee=DsnsH9eNATdQKHi9WGayj19KsAtaOaUEICOM95XJUaAm41wXqX3xi%2F0BJXvh8Z2handbt_ts=1613734994333 (CNN)) PBandJ: 1:01:16 If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also leaving a 5-star REVIEW is a great way to help get the word out. For more info about the exciting EDI work happening at MN Opera, please visit https://mnopera.org/edi/ (mnopera.org/edi).

Ready or not, it's time to put opera on game! Hosts Lee Bynum (VP, Impact), Paige Reynolds (Civic Engagement Manager), and Rocky Jones (EDI Director) are three Black artists, pop culture aficionados, and arts administrators at Minnesota Opera, who are working every day to bring more diversity, equity, and inclusivity into opera and classical music. The Score is their provocative, thoughtful, and humorous commentary on opera's past, present, and future, as seen through an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens. But you definitely don't need to be a classical music head to join the conversation. Come on over, still a spell, and get to know us a little better!