Ep. 49 - Redefining the Confines of Genre: Representation in Vocal Music - Adrian Dunn

"My goal as an artist, conductor, and thought leader is to make sure that we always start with 'why are we singing? Are we picking these pieces because people are telling us that we should, because they’ve been prescribed by lists? Are we picking these pieces because these are culturally relevant topics for the people who are part of our communities of singing? Why are we doing it?' Sometimes we should ask, 'Why are we still doing it?'" Adrian Dunn is a critically acclaimed singer, composer, and conductor. Mr. Dunn holds a Bachelor of  Music and Master of Music degree in Voice from The Music Conservatory at Roosevelt University with additional musical studies in opera at The Sibelius Academy of Music in Finland.His most recent composition and concert work Emancipation recently aired on PBS as a 1 hour special featuring The Adrian Dunn Singers & Dunn’s Rize Orchestra. In 2022 he made his Ravinia Festival Chicago Symphony Orchestra composer debut with a choral commission of Going Home from the Dvorak New World Symphony. He and The Adrian Dunn Singers performed the film score for the  2022 major motion picture, Honk for Jesus. In 2022 Mr. Dunn won The American Prize in Composition for Requiem from The Mass for  the  Unarmed  Child and was  named  in  the Top  10  Classical music &  Jazz  performances  of  2021  by  Chicago Tribune.  He made his composer and conducting debut with The Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra in June  2021. Mr. Dunn is a MacArthur grant recipient for his original work Hopera: A Hip Hop Opera. Mr. Dunn is writing his first full length opera: The 42 Project on the life of Black Major League  Baseball star Jackie Robinson. Mr. Dunn has sung with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, and Blossom  Festival Chorus. He sung the lead role in the 2017 Chicago premiere of the Paul  Laurence Dunbar opera The Poet and in 2016. He has opened for international Hip Hop Recording Artist The Roots at Indiana University. He was awarded the 2015 Album Producer of  the Year for AME Live featuring  the AME International Mass Choir from the Rhythm of Gospel Awards.He is currently the Director of Choral Programs & voice faculty member  at The Colburn School.To get in touch with Adrian, you can find him on Instagram and YouTube (@theadriandunn). You can check out his website https://www.adriandunn.com to learn more about his music, see tour schedules, and learn more about the advocacy organization Black Music Matters.Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels