(gentle music)
- My name is Valerie Coleman.
I'm a flutist and composer, and I'm delighted
to be a part of the residency programs
for the Julliard Pre-College
and MAP Music Advancement Program this season.
Back in 1997, I started touring with the group
that I had started called Imani Winds.
During that time, I was writing music for the group.
I was lucky enough to be one of those composers
that actually had the music workshopped
and performed on a regular basis
to see how music could evolve.
(lively music)
This work that I created is one of my signature works.
Umoja itself means "unity" in Swahili,
and I'd like to think of it as an anthem of unity.
The reason why "Umoja" is being played
as part of the residency is because
it has been that voice that reaches people
in such a way that I hope transforms the listener
into just a feeling of the harmony
that we all share as musicians.
It stands for unity, but it's so much more than that.
This is about motherhood, brotherhood, sisterhood,
all of this, really going to the core
of who we are, our humanity.
(lively music)
The joy of being a musician that is
in the position of being a mentor.
That, to me, is on par with making music in and of itself.
I remember in my very first residency session,
I got an opportunity to visit
the Music Advancement Program's composition class.
To see all of those brown faces,
most of them women composers,
it choked me up for a minute. (chuckling)
(lively music)
Young minds are really at the heart and the potential
of the future of music in this country, in the world,
especially within the genre of classical music,
and if there's any way possible
I can give them a little shortcut,
because these are young minds of color
who will face challenges in the world,
and so this is a crucial moment for them
to not only get a world-class education,
but also be reaffirmed in their ability
to just believe in themselves.
Our minds and our hearts just kind of want to grow
in spite of ourselves, allow that to happen too.
And I think in and of itself, the impact we make
and allowing ourselves to grow, that's success.
I started the residency in October of 2021,
and it's gonna go all the way until the end of April, 2022.
During this time I will be working with all the large
and small ensembles, writing a work for the concert band.
The culmination of this new work
is written for the MAP students.
I wanna make sure that the students can really absorb it
and use their imaginations of what the piece means to them,
what the different sonorities spark in their imagination.
10 years from now, 20 years from now,
they'll look back at this time
and know that they were a part of a creation
of a work that is out in the world,
living and striving and thriving.
I hope that students walk away with this sense of,
it's a used word a lot, empowerment,
but there's some truth to it.
That feeling that they can create their own path.
So much about classical music is prescribed.
It's not because we have prescribed it for ourselves,
but it's because of the history of it.
The doors have been closed around it.
It's crucial for the evolution of music,
whether classical or any other genre,
for students to really follow their own path
and let their own voices be heard,
and that is how we start to hear different sounds
and different melodies and different concepts
that we've never experienced before.
All my music has a message and it reflects the times.
I believe that music in and of itself
is a language that can reach anyone.
Whether you have differences of opinion
or you're in echo chamber, whatever it may be,
music is a vehicle upon which ideas can be introduced.
(lively music)
Juilliard has really created these avenues of connecting
with young minds and particularly, young minds of color.
It's really been a powerful thing.
I'm so glad to have been a part of it.
(soft music)