The Gospel of Musical Inclusion | Jason Thompson | TEDxASU

Jason Thompson is the director of the Gospel Choir at Arizona State University. In this talk, he discusses the importance of hearing all musical genres and the stories they represent. Jason Thompson (Ph.D., Northwestern University) is an Assistant Professor of Music Learning and Teaching in the Herberger Institute for Design and Arts at Arizona State University. At ASU, he teaches courses and conducts research that explores sociocultural issues in music learning and teaching, socially engaged practice in the arts, and musical engagement in cultural contexts. His most popular course is the Gospel Choir, a credit-bearing ensemble comprised of singers who reflect racial, gender, age, musical, and religious diversities. The increase in the ensemble’s membership by 914% over a two-year period has been serendipitous for the Herberger Institute, which seeks to project music and musical practices typically underrepresented in higher education. Dr. Thompson is a recent recipient of a 10K grant from the National Association for Music Education to explore the community cultural wealth that 13- to 18-year olds in the Phoenix region utilize to do music. Dr. Thompson and his research team of faculty peers and doctoral students believe understanding how young people utilize these community resources, as well as where they face limitations, may help the profession develop more effective ways to bridge school and community partnerships and to foster inclusive musical opportunities for underrepresented and underserved young people. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx