Democracy Matters - Episode 10: Inclusive Music and the Value of ‘Being With’

by Carah Ong Whaley

SUMMARY: What is inclusion and how can inclusive music contribute to a culture of democratic engagement through authentic experiences of participatory musicking? JMU’s Center for Inclusive Music Engagement is facilitating innovative opportunities for all persons—particularly those are often marginalized in institutional music education contexts—to create, perform, respond, and connect with, in, through, and around music in ways they find meaningful. In this episode we talk with Dr. Jesse Rathgeber, an assistant professor of music education at James Madison University and associate director of the Center for Inclusive Music Engagement, and with Emily Veramessa, who graduated from JMU in 2019 with a degree in music education and is now the inaugural Engagement Fellow at the Center.