RefleXions Music Series And KUAF 91.3 to Launch First Episode of RefleXions' Podcast Featuring Sing for Hope Co-Founders

RefleXions Music Series has announced the premiere and release of the RefleXions Podcast, featuring "Sing for Hope" co-founders Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora on their first episode on November 17 at noon during Ozarks at Large on KUAF, 91.3.

"The RefleXions Podcast is an accompaniment to the RefleXions Music Series. In each episode, we'll have conversations with our guest artists that expand beyond their music and careers. We'll explore the way they use their art to connect, inspire, reflect and advocate for social justice and diversity," says Antoinette Grajeda, producer and co-host of this initiative. The first episode features "Sing for Hope" co-founders Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora in a candid and eloquent dialogue about their organization "Sing for Hope"'s beginnings, their responses to the COVID crisis, and the pressing need to diversify our arts organizations at every level.

"Sing for Hope" started as Yunus's and Zamora's response to 9/11 and now it is an "artists' peace corps" that reaches millions of people annually in their home-base of NYC and worldwide. Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in partnership with hundreds of community-based organizations and city agencies, "Sing for Hope" activates the creative arts as drivers of healing, learning, and social cohesion.

RefleXions podcast is the result of a collaborations with KUAF 91.3 through RefleXions team members Leigh Wood and Antoinette Grajeda. "KUAF is proud to be a partner on the RefleXions project. We're also very happy to work on the podcast. Antoinette brings her tremendous talent to introducing the community to Monica and Camille and all the good work that Sing for Hope does," says Leigh Wood, KUAF general manager.

"The podcast has opened the possibility of a full-circle dialog with our communities in NWA" says Lia Uribe, podcast co-host and director of RefleXions Music Series. "After the release of our first episode on KUAF 91.3 on November 17 during Ozarks at Large, our listeners will have the opportunity to get back to us with their own reflections. We believe that art doesn't stop with artists: we need communities, audiences, art advocates, art administrators and leaders, all together disrupting traditional structures and promoting transforming experiences for all."

Followers of the podcast can contact RefleXionsMusicSeries@gmail.com or leave a message in the RefleXionsMusic.org website with their reflections, feedback and ideas for the podcast.

To listen to the podcast, visit KUAF.com and the other podcast platforms.

About RefleXions Music Series: RefleXions Music Series was conceived as a celebration of music, musicians, advocates, and audiences, as a series of events that foster creative justice and diversity through opportunities to reflect, learn, grow, change, and teach. RefleXions team is a collective of University of Arkansas individuals from different backgrounds that bring unique perspectives and commitment to the highest standards of scholarship, research and aesthetic diversity: Erika Almenara, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Rogelio Garcia-Contreras, Walton College of Business; Antoinette Grajeda and Leigh Wood, KUAF; Ronda Mains, Catalina Ortega, Eric Troiano and Lia Uribe, Department of Music; along with students Connor Gott, Olga Khokhryakova, Liz Luzcando and Bailey Ross.