Utilizing trauma-informed and equity-centered approaches, this session addresses common DEI programming practices and pitfalls. Attendees will gain strategies for reframing or replacing potentially triggering or trauma-centered music through an examination of common choral practices that may be unintentionally traumatizing for singers. Additionally, we will explore current challenges and common shortcomings of DEI work in choral spaces – including programming that perpetuates a one-dimensional perspective on music by historically excluded composers. This session will conclude with a comprehensive list of accessible repertoire and resources that will help participants shift their DEI practices to create more welcoming, safe, and joy-centered choral spaces.
(re)sounding Joy: Shifting Paradigms for DEI Work in Choral Spaces
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Alyssa Cossey
Coastal Carolina University
Dr. Alyssa Cossey is a conductor, singer, educator, and scholar. She is a contributing author for a new textbook on women composers (edited by Hilary Apfelstadt), an inaugural member of Mirabai, and is currently serving as Associate Director of Choral Activities at Coastal Carolina University. Before relocating to the East Coast, she was an Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the University of Arizona. Prior to that, she taught both middle and high school choir in Southern California for nearly a decade. Dr. Cossey holds degrees from Michigan State University, California State University, Fullerton, and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
