My guest this week is conductor, composer, educator, and arts administrator, Emily Eng. Ms. Eng is the founder and Executive Director of the Lift Music Fund, whose mission is to make achievement in music more accessible and equitable. They do so by helping musicians who are underrepresented in music, such as Black, Latinx, and Native American students, overcome the barriers, financial and otherwise, to pursuing a career in music. Pursuing a career in music is an expensive endeavor, which disproportionately affects certain communities in the United States, and creates barriers to an art form that is meant for all. Emily and I were students together at New England Conservatory together, studying conducting. She and I, along with two others, formed a tight-nit bond and they are now three of my best friends and favorite colleagues. Emily began her work with Lift Music Fund this past summer and when I saw all the amazing work she was doing, I had to have her on the podcast to talk about her organization and the problems it is tackling in classical music.
The question of the week is, "Why is classical music perceived as an elitist art form?" Emily and I discuss the vicious cycle that makes classical music elitist, her organization, Lift Music Fund, what she has learned from students that have applied for scholarships, and why becoming a musician is so expensive.
You can find out more about Emily and Lift Music Fund on their website, liftmusicfund.org, or on Instagram @liftmusicfund.