The Gospel of Musical Inclusion

As an institution, music education often inadvertently excludes diverse voices, their experiences, and a range of musical genres. This chapter confronts the urgent need for inclusion by exploring the experiences that countless marginalized individuals experience within music education. Drawing on my personal experiences as a church musician, student, and music professor and administrator, I contend that these experiences can be understood through the lens of struggles with visibility, existence, and essence. This chapter calls for a radical reimagining of music education that centers equity and belonging as fundamental to artistic excellence.

Keywords: compartmentalization of knowledge ; equity in music ; exclusion ; gatekeeping ; inclusive music pedagogy ; marginalized voices ; music and belonging ; music and identity ; music education reform ; musical diversity ; social justice in music ; visibility