Official Trailer ✅: Season 5 Episode 6: "Healing, Heritage, & Musical Transformation"...

Purposes that God gives for us is just like, you should just exude that. It's the easiest just to be yourself, really. I mean, and unfortunately, I think in our craft, a lot of people are striving to be, you know, the next competition winner or the next Argorich or whatever. And there's no way that you're going to do that because you need to just be yourself. And so once I sort of became free of the mindset that I needed to fit on this very narrow path of becoming X, Y, or Z that's been presented to me, I felt incredibly free and completely easy to be authentic because there's no one else for me to be.

In our 6th episode of the season titled Healing Heritage and Musical Transformation: Exploring Resilience, Advocacy for Diversity and Wellness in Music Education, we are thrilled to welcome the acclaimed Yamaha artist, recording artist, and wellness advocate, Dr. Artina McKay. Renowned for her dynamic interpretations and dedication to amplifying underrepresented voices in classical music, Artina has inspired audiences worldwide through her performances and thought-provoking engagements. In this conversation, I asked her about the progress we have made in diversifying piano literature and programs since the surge of conversations about inclusion following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

I do think that we are doing better now. When I ask the questions, people have one or two that are like, "Oh, you know, those are unfamiliar." We still have a lot of Bach Chopin lists Brahms showing up in competitions. But I think as we, you know, podcasts like this, teachers like you, myself keep talking about it, more and more people are like, oh, you know, I really need to find, you know, something that's underrepresented or even just something that represents myself, which is not usually Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms. So most people kind of fall into a category where they're not being seen and heard. So I think we are doing better.

Dear TPP friends and listeners, don't miss this captivating conversation. Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19th, at 8 PM Eastern Time on The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Artina Coelho, or catch the episode on your go-to podcast platforms. Tune in and let Artina's inspiring story ignite new perspectives on your own musical path.