PANELS

The MIGF panels this year focus on two important issues: diversity and community outreach in performing arts. The panel discussions will be live-streamed via Zoom in the first and last weekend of the festival. Following each panel, there will be a live Q&A on Zoom.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) are four related but distinct goals that must be embraced and developed to create a society where everyone belongs and can thrive.  In the performing arts, there are specific challenges to reaching these ideals that differ from that of other disciplines.  Through this panel, we will discuss the differences and interconnectedness between these four concepts, how they manifest (or not), and how the performing arts and our education programs can take the lead in these efforts.  Panelists represent music and theater performance, music education, and academia.

Panelists:

  1. Brenton F. Alston (conductor, wind ensemble)
  2. Freddie Bryant (classical and jazz guitarist and composer)
  3. Ciyadh Wells (classical guitarist, activist, and scholar)
  4. Pioneer Winter (choreographer and dance artist)
    Moderator: Maria Elena Villar, Associate Professor of Communication, Equity Advisor for FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA)

Community Outreach Initiatives panel presents a live-streamed discussion on various issues when connecting the communities with performing arts.

Panelists:

  1. Mark Hart (Executive and Artistic Director of Miami’s Community Arts Program): The award-winning Community Arts Program (CAP) is comprised of the renowned CAP Summer Concert Series—entering its 36th season in 2021—that presents renowned jazz and classical artists in performance and in master classes during the summer months (June-August). The CAP after-school (August-May) Conservatory for the Arts and Miami Jazz Institute afford all children and youth (ages 5-18), no matter what their circumstance or ability, the opportunity to have a music education with one-on-one instrument instruction, music theory training, and performance practice within three CAP Creative Strings and two CAP Jazz Ensembles. CAP Records® is a grassroots label for unique recordings with adventurous artists of distinction. It also provides CAP students with a platform for recording, and the valuable growth that comes from listening.
  2. Adam Levin (Co-Founder of Kithara Project): Kithara Project’s mission is to improve the lives and opportunities of children and youth through the classical guitar. Kithara Project currently serves over 130 students in four comprehensive, year-round guitar education programs: the first, at the Fiorentino Community Center, in Allston; the second, in Mexico City; the third, in Albuquerque, NM; and the fourth, in Brighton, at the Oak Square YMCA.
  3. Federico Musgrove (Founding President and Executive Director of the Florida Guitar Foundation): Florida Guitar Foundation is a non-profit organization, dedicated to the classical guitar and its music through performances, education, and community outreach.
  4. John Stuart (Associate Dean for Cultural and Community Engagement in the FIU CARTA and Executive Director of Miami Beach Urban Studios) At MBUS, he works with faculty, staff and students to forge connections to local and global community members through research projects, performances, lectures, exhibitions, and other forms of engagement.
    Moderator: Mesut Özgen (Guitarist and Composer, Artistic Director of MIGF, Associate Teaching Professor at FIU School of Music)
Download the complete 2021 MIGF Schedule of Virtual Events

21


February 2021
12:30 pm

Panel: IDEA in Performing Arts

Sunday, February 21, 2021
12:30 pm EST

register to watch for free

27


February 2021
1:30 pm

Panel: Community Outreach Initiatives

Saturday, February 27, 2021
1:30 pm EST

register to watch for free

Equal Opportunity/Access Employer and Institution
TDD via FRS 1-800-955-8771
To request materials in accessible format, sign language interpreters, and/or any disability accommodation, please contact the FIU’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs & Diversity (EOPD) at 305-348-2785 two weeks in advance to initiate your request.