Color Me Music is a student organization first founded in 2018 by Michigan State University School of Music students Jadrian Traver and Jordyn Davis (both graduates). This organization is an alliance for students of color studying music and art. Members come together to host events and concerts, and have conversations with each other and with faculty.
This organization was created to create a place for students of color within the College of Music. Phoenix Miranda, current president and voice performance master’s student, joined the company in 2019 as an undergraduate.
Miranda said Color Me Music’s goals have waxed and waned over the years to meet the needs of students and the university.
“We try to honor our founders while also making it our own,” Miranda said.
For example, after COVID-19, the organization’s goal was to become more visible on campus, as they were unable to host events and build community during the pandemic. It was.
While much of the year following the pandemic was spent rebuilding communities, the rest of the year focused on advocacy and important conversations within the College of Music and MSU.
This advocacy often takes the form of conversations with administrators and faculty about how the College of Music can improve and create more space for people of color. Paula Duva-Rodriguez, treasurer and Vocal Performance master’s student, said this is an important tenet of Color Me Music.
“It can be difficult to advocate for yourself, especially if you are a person of color. “Because I’ve had the experience of feeling like that,” Duva-Rodriguez said. “So the opportunity to be able to sit down with faculty and make some changes on campus is really great.”
Color Me Music hosts student forums where administrators and faculty are invited to listen to student ideas and concerns. Miranda also said students are being invited to help with faculty hiring surveys. This advocacy is also coupled with social events and celebrations.
Advocating for and working toward change can often be difficult. Miranda said there have been new changes in the student body’s needs, especially after the Feb. 13, 2023, mass shooting. Instead of devoting more energy to heavy-handed advocacy, the organization recognized a new need to come together in the community and planned more social events.
“Our joy is just as important as our justice,” Miranda said.
Shining a spotlight on different genres of music is also an important goal of Color Me Music. Traditionally, music college curricula have focused primarily on white composers, but also on European classical music.
Miranda said that showcasing genres that originate from communities of color, like jazz music, has the same value as classical music and is very important to her and the organization.
“Let’s put everything on the same playing field and see how they can empathize and how they can mutually benefit,” Miranda said. “Because so many voices are being silenced. So all we’re doing is continuing to bring those voices to the forefront.”
Dialogue with administration has led to a more inclusive curriculum and closer relationships between faculty and students, but another way Color Me Music brings voices of color to the forefront is , through concerts and celebrations. The organization hosts a Black History Month concert every year, and this year also hosted its first Hispanic Heritage Month concert, called “La Vida Es en Carnival.”
Jose Maldonado, a doctoral student in musical arts and vocal performance, said these celebrations are an important part of learning and connecting with each other. Anyone can participate in the event.
“I think we’ll be able to celebrate each other more and see each other as something to celebrate,” Maldonado said. “It will create more connections and bring people more together. I think the best way for people to discover the unknown is to celebrate.”
Each concert focuses on a different art form or musical genre from the event’s respective community. Duva Rodriguez is deeply involved in the planning of “La Vida Es en Carnival,” and said he hopes to have as many different performers as possible.
“Our real goal was to represent the wide diversity of Latin American music,” Duba-Rodriguez said. “Our program ended up dragging because we couldn’t find participants at first, but suddenly more and more people wanted to participate. We were very happy in that respect.”
This concert featured many different instrumentalists and groups performing works by classical and contemporary composers from the Latin American diaspora.
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Diversity in sound and culture is not only present within the event, Color Me Music as an organization is comprised of MSU students of various ages, majors, backgrounds, and identities.
Auinha Smith, a second-year student in Global and International Studies, is the only person involved with Color Me Music who is not studying at the College of Music. She joined after attending Color Me Music’s open mic night, a regularly held event.
“I played an instrument and was in the choir growing up, but I didn’t know the organization was connected to the College of Music until I enrolled,” Smith said. “I would somehow see someone posting an event and think, ‘This is really cool,’ but I would just stick with that organization every time.”
Smith’s favorite thing about the organization is the close-knit community within it.
“Music is a common interest and something that brings people together,” Smith said. “I hope[Color Me Music]expands further outside of the College of Music…I want more people to be a part of it.”
Duva-Rodriguez said that even within the College of Music, there are many different departments, making her feel isolated from other students.
“I think Color Me Music is a place where friendships are created that might not otherwise happen, because we are often so segregated within our own divisions,” Duba said.・Mr. Rodriguez said.
What Duba-Rodriguez hopes Color Me Music’s newcomers and members learn from is the advocacy work the organization is involved in.
“Our focus on advocacy ensures that students across campus embrace the values we hold as an institution and even carry them into their daily lives on MSU’s campus and beyond.” I hope we can spread the word,” Duva Rodriguez said.
Color Me Music also features a rare collaboration between graduate and undergraduate students. Miranda noted that while most of the organizations on campus are centered around undergraduate students, there is also considerable overlap with Color Me Music.
Miranda credits the fact that, like her, many students earned their degrees at MSU and were familiar with the organizations they attended in their graduate programs.
Maldonado said the wide age range provides different perspectives and opportunities for mentorship.
“Everyone’s experience is different, but it not only resonates with me, but it also makes me realize what I have to be grateful for and how it can be a tool,” Maldonado said. “If it’s something positive, it can be a tool to share with people because I think it makes the community stronger.”
The organization is now focused on looking to the future, planning more events for next year. Miranda is transitioning from her role as president as she graduates this year and is now preparing younger students to take on leadership positions. She is very optimistic about the future of Color Me Music.
“I hope it grows beyond my imagination,” Miranda said. “My hope is that we can effectively prepare the people who will remain here.”
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