The Choral Commons
The Choral Commons is a media platform that provides a space for choirs and singing communities to realize the liberatory potential of the ensemble as a site of radical imagining. We promote equitable artistic and organizational practices that harness the positive social impacts of participatory music making for the common good and confront racism, poverty, ableism, LGBTQ+ discrimination, displacement, and much more. We produce podcasts and community events, offer educational resources on justice-centered praxis, and incubate creative, artistic, and compassionate projects that empower choirs and singing communities to work for a just and peaceful world.
The Choral Commons
Singing in Prisons, Part 2 // Mary Cohen, Simone Frierson, & Karletta White
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Season 2
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Episode 4
In this conversation, André and Emilie speak with Dr Mary Cohen and special guests from the Oakdale Choir. Mary L. Cohen is associate professor of music education at the University of Iowa. She researches music-making and well-being, songwriting, and collaborative communities. In 2009, she founded the Oakdale Prison Community Choir, comprised of men incarcerated in the Oakdale Prison and people from the community. Mary's research centers around how music education can be a tool for abolishing the prison industrial complex.
You can learn more about the Oakdale Choir here: