National Philharmonic Partners with Pretrial Justice Institute to Raise Awareness

The National Philharmonic has announced a partnership with Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI) in hosting Harmonic Justice, an online event that combines classical music with raising awareness on racial justice in classical music and beyond.

On Monday, November 30, 2020 at 7 p.m. ET, NatPhil and PJI will convene a panel of musicians to discuss how racial equity can be better achieved in orchestral programming-and how those efforts can reverberate in the world at large. The conversation will be interspersed with classical musical interludes.

The panel for the evening will consist of musicians Chaz Salazar (flutist and 2020 Orchestral Futurist Fellow at NOI+F) and Garrett McQueen (bassoonist and Executive Producer of the Trilloquy podcast), along with Founder and Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir, Alysia Lee, and National Philharmonic President and CEO, Jim Kelly. The discussion will be moderated by Cherise Fanno Burdeen, executive partner at the Pretrial Justice Institute and Nat Phil board member.

While National Philharmonic has always strived to embrace racial and gender diversity, in November of 2019, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County brought leaders, including National Philharmonic, together to discuss Racial Equity & Humanities. That conversation led the organization to take further steps, including a full season of music largely influenced by both composers of color and women composers. In early 2019, the Pretrial Justice Institute committed to an equity transformation as well, centering racial justice as the foundation of their vision, mission and work. This event is a continuation of both organizations' efforts to advance racial equity.

Harmonic Justice will be the first in a series of events co-hosted by the two organizations. The event is free for viewing; however, space is limited and registration is required. To reserve your tickets, please visit: https://bit.ly/HarmonicJustice.