About
Check out the video below to learn more about Being Human Together in the first BHT Youth summit!
Love is a verb.
Being Human Together started first as a mindset, and then as a workshop. Presented at the Texas music educator conference in February 20 20, Coty Raven Morris facilitated workshops that allow participants to have not only dialogue about their experiences in and outside of the classroom, but to find common ground on vocabulary, and where they may or may not have expertise.
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Morris personally knows the power that music education can have on a young person’s life, and what the transformative joy of choral singing can do for those experiencing trauma. Her own childhood and adolescence was marked by the loss of her mother and grandmother as a young girl, which led her to uproot from her hometown of New Orleans to live with extended family in Austin, Texas. Morris found her calling through her high school choir, which inspired her to pursue her undergraduate degree in music education at Texas State University and teach in public schools in Texas. It’s these experiences, both personal and professional, that provide Morris with the perspective and credentials to forge a path for this exciting and impactful new professorship at PSU.
Learn more about Coty Raven Morris by clicking below. |
The mission moves north!
The Gregory K. and Mary Chomenko Hinckley Professor of Choir, Music Education & Social Justice Endowment was established in 2020 through a generous contribution by Gregory and Mary Chomenko Hinckley. This brand-new, one-of-a-kind position focuses on choral instruction and preparing future music educators inside the classroom, while lifting up marginalized communities through music outside the classroom. Given the urgent need for racial justice, rising houselessness and many inequities in the community, this position was conceived by Ethan Sperry, Barre Stoll Professor & Director of Choral Activities. In keeping with the University’s motto, “Let knowledge serve the city”, the School of Music & Theater moved to formally create this new position to help build a more equitable Portland and promote healing through the power of singing by combining rigorous musical study with community outreach initiatives. |
As the world began to open back up, the conversations continued and demanded for them increased! Combining Morris, his passion, for working with the youth in the community with the resources of Portland, State University, and the choir for houseless initiative, the three pillars of being coming to gather have formed: youth, neighbors, and community!
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