Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Classical music was born in a culture and a time that practiced many forms of racism and exclusion, many of which continue today. Rooting out these problems requires long, hard work from all of us. In order to remain a relevant part of contemporary society, classical music must commit to improving in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Classical music performers need to play a part in healing these rifts that leave our society as a whole weakened and vulnerable.
In our work as performers, curators, and organizers of classical music performances, we choose to make positive contributions to diversity and inclusion by performing music by women and composers of color. We seek out and perform classical music by composers of diverse genders, gender identities, races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. Recent and upcoming performances include major works of Fanny Mendelssohn, Ethyl Smyth, Lili Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Gabriela Lena Frank, Chen Yi, Undine Smith Moore, William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, Robert Owens, Shawn Okpebholo, Bright Sheng, Carlos Guastavino, Jessie Montgomery and John Wineglass.
We value the contributions of composers and performers of diverse genders, gender identities, ethnicities, and cultures not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it is the artistically interesting thing to do. This is true not just of our present moment; it has been true for all time, though it has seldom been acknowledged. Art benefits from the cross-pollination of diverse cultures and perspectives. Let us work together to facilitate that cross-pollination in classical music today.
Land Acknowledgement
BDDS’s primary performance home is Collins Recital Hall on the UW-Madison Campus. In the spirit of humility and respect, we wish to acknowledge that “the University of Wisconsin-Madison occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop (day-JOPE) since time immemorial.
In an 1832 treaty, the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede this territory.
Decades of ethnic cleansing followed when both the federal and state government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk from Wisconsin.
This history of colonization informs our shared future of collaboration and innovation.
Today, UW-Madison respects the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation, along with the eleven other First Nations of Wisconsin.”
Michael Bridgeman is the retired Communications Director for Wisconsin Public Television where he oversaw promotion, public relations, design, special events and online services. He has been active in historic preservation and neighborhood organizations and served for ten years on the Madison Arts Commission, including two as chair. Michael has attended BDDS concerts since the first season and also enjoys orchestral music, opera and theater.
Norma Sober, now retired, had a long career as an arts administrator in Madison as the director of outreach at the Madison Civic Center and as director of development and education at Madison Repertory Theatre. She is a member of the Madison Arts Commission and is an occasional consultant to cultural organizations, for which she sometimes gets paid.
David Polet was born in Holland, Michigan into a family of Dutch immigrants. One of his passions was living in Russia, studying language and literature, and attending the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Having worked at Epic Systems, and CUNA Mutual Group, he is currently employed at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board as a project manager. He likes to attend Chamber Orchestra concerts and is a member of the Salon series at Farley’s House of Pianos.
Sarah Best is the award winning CEO/chief strategist of Sarah Best Strategy, a social media company. She has been invited to speak at various conferences around the country, and is an avid traveler, foodie, and multi-faceted creative. Sarah is also a poet who has been published in The Yale Review. She is a visual artist and film curator who has shown work at many significant Chicago institutions as well as the Echo Park Film Center, in Los Angeles. She is a Madison Downtown Rotarian and is secretary of the board of New Harvest Foundation.
Teri Venker has led arts marketing as the director of marketing for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, from which she recently retired, and for the Wisconsin Union Theater. Teri enjoys bicycling and international travel. She also volunteers at Lakeview Elementary School and with the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.
Larry Bechler grew up playing music: first piano, then trumpet all the way through college marching band and into post-college bands. He has a love of live chamber music, spawned by BDDS and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston. He practices law at Murphy Desmond S.C and has served on various committees and commissions throughout his life.
Miriam Simmons served as the Assistant Dean for Professional Development in the Graduate School at UW-Madison. A major responsibility was directing the Wisconsin Idea Seminar, a five-day tour of the state that immerses forty faculty and academic staff members in the realities of Wisconsin. She is on the board of the Madison Civic Club and considers BDDS her new BFF.