Music Monday

The past few days have been more optimistic ones for women and people of colour across our planet.

In an election result which left the world breathing a collective sigh of relief, Kamala Harris was elected to the role of Vice President of the USA – making her not only the first woman to hold that office, but the first person of colour as well.

It is sobering to recognise that the election of a woman to that office comes exactly one hundred years after women were first given the vote in the USA. 

Change for women worldwide is a painfully slow process and for women of colour, so much more so.

But what a good day for girls and young women of colour in the USA to see that anything is possible.

Today in Australia, the cast for the 2021 Australian production of Hamilton was announced. This has been a joyful cause for celebration, not just in my waapa workplace from where a number of the cast originate, but across Australia. What a good day for diversity!

Yesterday I helped out at a local Solo Vocal Festival – an annual opportunity for secondary school voice students to perform a solo song in front of an audience. Given that there has been so little live music performance this year, this too was cause for celebration. As I looked around the (socially distanced) performers and audience yesterday afternoon, it was so good to see students from many ethnic and cultural backgrounds, all sharing in their common love of singing.

Music really does have the power to bring people together, to heal divisions and to promote empathy and understanding. People of all skin colours sing together – the vocal folds and larynx do not discriminate race. People make music together with little concern about their differences.

Importantly, this week is NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week in Australia. 

The 2020 theme is Always Was, Always Will Be.

Across Australia, schools and communities are celebrating local indigenous people, indigenous practitioners in all of the arts are sharing with the wider community.

Many music teachers teach songs from the original custodians of the lands on which their schools sit. It is worth noting that, while many Aboriginal people encourage wadjelas (white fellas) to sing their songs, some are sensitive. Always best to check with your local indigenous elders for guidance on this.

As we hopefully move towards healing from years of political divisions, racial inequality and oppression of women, let us always use music to connect people, never to divide.