Everything Band: Episode 172 - Christian Michael Folk

Christian Michael Folk is a graduate student in music education at the University of South Carolina and the creator of the Diverse Composers of Wind Band Music database. He joins the show to tell the story of his young career and to share the story of how the database came to exist, some of the criticisms he faces, and thoughts about diversity in music education practice.

Topics:

• Christian’s background and his early teaching experiences.
• The Diverse Composers of Wind Band Music database.
• A LONG conversation about diversity in music.

Links:

• Diverse Composers of Wind Band Music Database
• Maslanka: A Child’s Garden of Dreams

Biography:

Christian Folk is a music educator, conductor, and performer interested in advocacy and resources for diverse composers and incorporating equity and anti-racism into the music education curriculum. Christian taught for three years in public and private schools in the Charlotte, NC, and Columbia, SC area, and is currently working on his Master's Degree in Music Education with emphasis in Conducting and Euphonium Performance at The University of South Carolina. As a conductor, Christian has guest conducted with the Carolina Wind Symphony and the Congaree New Horizons Band, and has participated in conducting symposia with John Locke, Cormac Cannon, and Scott Weiss. Christian has commissioned pieces from Cait Nishimura, Kimberly Archer, John Mackey, and Nathan Daughtrey. A strong advocate for music by diverse composers, Christian is the creator of two databases for wind band and orchestra that cataloged thousands of works by women composers and composers of color, which have been featured in clinics at The Midwest Clinic and the National Association for Music Education Conference. He is also a representative of the "...And We Were Heard" project. Christian lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife, Christy, their dog, Linny, and two cats, Sirius and Kingsley.
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