The Beth and Kelly Show Episode Three: Jennifer Wharton

We had a SUPER IMPORTANT conversation with Dr. Sean Powell about his SUPER IMPORTANT book The Ideology of Competition in School Music. Have you ever, as a music educator who was involved in some type of competition with your students, felt a sinking feeling of “something just ain’t right about this….” ? If this is you, listen to this episode. Read the book!

Awesome conversation with Seattle music ed maven Deb Schaaf! We worked with Deb for years in Seattle Public Schools and together we played a big role in shaping the district’s cutting edge “Cornerstone Assessment” that centers student-directed learning, collaboration, and creativity. The through-line of our discussion: LIFE-LONG MUSIC MAKING!!

Excellent and eclectic conversation with multi-genre musician/ creator (and former Seattleite/ Rooseveltian) Brittany Anjou! Brittany has been spreading her genius around NYC for almost 20 years now, has been conducting some cutting edge research, and contributes wisdom to young scholars as a prof at The New School. This conversation is a good one to listen to if you are an artist or educator of future artists who realize that “the culture of struggle” in all of its forms as a “way of being” with in the professional musician community is a speed bump and you want to find data to back it up and ways to mitigate the toxicity. Oh! And stick around until the end for a sweet acapella performance!

In this episode, we celebrate 5 years of this podcast — a true labor of love; AND we talk at length about a mentor of ours — a consummate music educator who was the very essence of cool — the late Robert E Knatt.

In this epic conversation with Molly Redfield, we talk about Molly’s musical upbringing, and the challenges encountered as a woman pro performer and music educator. What became evident is that words matter — even offhanded comments from an adjudicator at a middle school jazz band festival. Words (even seemingly simple ones) can affect the trajectory of one’s beliefs about themselves and one’s very future. We need to be conscious of our words, and the words of those we have speak to our students. After this conversation, what we can tell you is that we are SO GLAD Molly is out there in the music ed realm — Molly — keep doing your super power — building warm welcoming communities for music participants and learners!

Rayna Mathis joined us for our final episode of Season 4 of The Beth and Kelly Show! We talk about all of Rayna's hats -- including overseeing the revolutionary and equity-based Creative Advantage arts program for Seattle Public Schools, as well as her editorship of the Earshot Jazz Journal -- a celebrated Seattle publication. Tune in for this inspiring interview that shows us that all of us can be full-fledged contributors to our arts and music communities.

This episode is a conversation between 3 women who are relentlessly working to help our music and music education worlds be more equitable and representative of all genders. Listen to the creative approaches our great Erica von Kleist is employing to get important messages across. Yes yes yes! The work continues!

Epic conversation with the epic folks @ StringRise (Nicole Melrose, Annalisa Chang, and 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award Recipient Annie Ray) about serving kids where they are right now and owning the role of EDUCATOR.

What a great and timely conversation with Music Ed thinker Will Coppola! Take a listen and expand your understanding of the directions we need to steer the ship in our modern era.

This interview with the movers and shakers of the Yamaha Education Division, Heather Mansell and Natalie Morrison, goes into the REAL ways that Yamaha is working to help us as a music education world usher in needed change. This is a great convo about serving both our current students AND "the other 70%" of students that don't engage in school music programs in the US (shocking data, I know)!! Yamaha is actively working to help that percentage shift. Yamaha is a gem in our community!