Knightlizard Music

What the students learned in creating this book goes far beyond music, Kate Sheeran says. "They're also seeing that they can have a voice in shaping who writes history and who tells stories," she says, "and that we don't have to just accept the way music is presented to us or the way music history is presented to us — that they too can shape that. And that, to me, is the most exciting thing."

These NYC kids have written the history of an overlooked Black female composer A group of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students realized there was no children's book about the composer Florence Price. So they wrote, illustrated and published their own.

It is with a breaking heart that we inform you that Michael Morgan, Music Director and Conductor of Oakland Symphony since 1991, died peacefully today, August 20, 2021 at Oakland Kaiser where he had been admitted last week for an infection. He was 63.


In May of this year, Michael Morgan underwent successful kidney transplant surgery at UCSF. He resumed conducting last month for the San Francisco Symphony and Bear Valley Music Festival.

Michael was born in Washington, D.C., where he attended public schools and began conducting at the age of 12. While a student at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, he spent a summer at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, studying with Gunther Schuller and Seiji Ozawa. He first worked with Leonard Bernstein during that same summer. His operatic debut was in 1982 at the Vienna State Opera, conducting Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. In 1986, Sir Georg Solti chose him to become the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for seven years under both Solti and Daniel Barenboim. In 1986, he was invited by Leonard Bernstein to make his debut with the New York Philharmonic. As guest conductor, Morgan has appeared with most of America’s major orchestras, as well as the New York City Opera, St. Louis Opera Theater, and Washington National Opera.

In addition to his duties with the Oakland Symphony, Maestro Morgan served as Artistic Director of Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, Music Director at Bear Valley Music Festival, and Music Director of Gateways Music Festival. He was Music Director Emeritus of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera and was on the boards of Oaktown Jazz Workshops and the Purple Silk Music Education Foundation.


In 2020, he began an association with the San Francisco Symphony as the first curator of their Currents online series, and he recently led the Orchestra on July 23 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco in what the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joshua Kosman said, “Some conductors use a guest appearance with a major orchestra as an opportunity to show what they can do. Michael Morgan uses it to show what the orchestra can do. I like his way better.”

His programming engaged new audiences and many returned for subsequent concerts. Notable personalities like W. Kamau Bell and Dolores Huerta were invited to share the “Playlist” of music that shaped their lives and values. Michael’s “Notes From…” concerts explored the music and musicians of such specific communities as Vietnam, Korea, Native American and LGBTQ+. “Lost Romantics” gave deserving, neglected works of the late 19th century a new hearing. And “American Masterworks” presented performances of such seminal stage works as “West Side Story,” “Candide,” “Street Scene,” “Porgy and Bess,” and “Show Boat.” The San Francisco Chronicle proclaimed, "In his 30 years as music director of the Oakland Symphony, Morgan has made that orchestra a vibrant hotbed for innovative programming.”


"Our entire organization is grieving a profound loss,” Jim Hasler, the Symphony’s Board Chair said. “Michael’s impact on our community and the national orchestra field cannot be overstated - and he has left us too soon. We have been blessed over the past 30 years, as Michael built the foundations of an Oakland Symphony dedicated to diversity, education, artistic collaboration and a celebration of music across genres and cultures. His vision of orchestras as service organizations was a beacon locally and nationally. This vision is his legacy, and the Oakland Symphony, Chorus and Youth Orchestra will renew his commitment for years to come.”

“This is a terribly sad moment for everyone in the Oakland Symphony family. We have lost our guiding father,” said Executive Director Mieko Hatano. “Michael’s plans and ambitions were set for several seasons to come. He made his Orchestra socially authentic, demanded equality, and he made his Orchestra our orchestra. He fashioned a unique, informed artistic profile that attracted one of the most diverse audiences in the nation. His music reflected his beliefs: reverence for the past, attuned to the future, rooted in his adopted home of Oakland. His spirit will always guide the enduring future of the Oakland Symphony.”


Michael Morgan is survived by his mother Mabel Morgan, and sister Jacquelyn Morgan. A memorial service will be announced in the near future.

If you would like to give in support of Michael Morgan and his legacy, please visit oaksym.org/donate

*Photo Courtesy of the SF Symphony

"It is important that our students understand that protest and social change are functions of music, and have been since our country’s inception. Music has existed as part of efforts to gain or exercise the freedom that the constitution has said are owed to all reaching far back into American history."

https://decolonizingthemusicroom.com/songs-%26-stories/f/thoughts-on-the-fourth-of-july

If you're looking for Sonoma County local indigenous musicians to support today, my students and I are really taken with Sky Road Webb's Miwok Music Project and there's an easy "donate" button on the page:

Miwok Music Project The Miwok Music Project explores the influence of music created by the indigenous people of Northern California through community singing, language instruction, song recording and documentation, and...

You are invited to an Uncaged Musicians Halloween Party!

WHO? All Uncaged Musicians Students and friends and family! No prior musical experience necessary. All ages welcome!

WHAT? A Halloween Party on Zoom! Teacher Elizabeth Erickson and her Uncaged Musicians students will share music and stories. All musicians in attendance can share a favorite Halloween-y extended technique/sound effect. Everyone is encouraged but not required to share costumes, pets, pumpkins, favorite decorations, and/or Halloween jokes! Everything must be appropriate for all ages (we will have toddlers and preschoolers in attendance). Ask ahead of time if you are unsure!

WHEN? Tuesday October 27th, 2:45-4:15pm PST (Students -- this is in place of our usual large group Tuesday classes: Story Club, Musicianship, and Proseminar. Older students please try come at 2:45 if possible rather than your usual start time! If you will be attending and need to arrive late or leave early due to prior commitments let me know and I will plan accordingly.)

WEAR? Costumes are optional but encouraged! Costumes can be on humans, willing pets (keep it safe), and/or musical instruments, cases, music stands, dolls, skeletons...

WHERE? On Zoom! (Students -- make a flashing neon sign in your calendars to help you remember this is NOT your usual login info!)

Zoom link, meeting ID, and passcode have been sent to students via email and posted in our private Uncaged Musicians group; students, please share Halloween Party Zoom info privately with your friends and family.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Enjoying this playlist today ❤️
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IjZ3ITSelAhkaYemTOGGz?si=kz0A7FGlQimhUBtx4idJhA

Family Music Artists of Color The Okee Dokee Brothers · Playlist · 56 songs · 294 likes

Wow, check out this gorgeous new viola! Andrew Carruthers actually lives in our area and made my beloved violin a few years ago. If you're in the market for an advanced/pro level instrument, definitely put his shop on your list!

We often try to make our instruments more interesting and visually engaging by "antiquing" them. I've been looking for ways to make an instrument look interesting without pretending that it is something that is not not - ie, an old instrument. On this viola I've made use of the tool marks that we violin makers see during the construction process, that can be very attractive, but are removed in the finished instrument. I've also used "patina" and "wear" techniques that we use in antiquing, but I've pushed them in different directions.

My hope was to make an instrument that looks "normal" to the concert audience, that is engaging form the players view and that sparks associations with other objects. I also hoped that it would have a texture that is rich enough to suck you in, and would reward close scrutiny.

There's an account of making the viola plus thoughts on the nature and function of decoration in instruments, on my blog:
https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/the-rustic-viola-an-etude-part-1-form/

This viola is among the better sounding instruments that I've made. See details of dimensions, model, etc,here:
https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/viola/rustic-viola-2020/

Black lives matter.
Black families matter.
Black musicians matter.

Elizabeth Erickson, KnightLizard Music studio, and Uncaged Musicians classes are strongly committed to protesting racism and police brutality and working towards social justice and the deep systemic change that requires.

Decolonizing our studio, which has previously been a long-term goal producing incremental change, is now receiving the majority of our efforts and will see improvement more swiftly as a result. Decolonization by its very nature produces an environment that more effectively serves each individual, which is particularly crucial for our BIPOC students, LGBTQ+ students, neuro-diverse students, and students with disabilities.

Because of this priority in combination with our pandemic-induced online study, current students may experience format changes more frequently than usual, always preserving their right to direct their personal study and collaborate on their vision for group study which is an integral part of decolonization. Our usual annual interview is happening in private lessons this week and includes questions that will help dial in what is working best and should be preserved and where there is ambivalence and therefore a perfect area for targeted innovation.

To allow for optimal focus on decolonization, we do not plan to accept new students until fall. To join our waiting list, fill out the registration form on our website: www.uncagedmusicians.com/Registration or visit the MusicLink Foundation to apply for a need-based scholarship: www.musiclinkfoundation.org

Prospective students please reach out with any questions prior to registration. Because we may be changing structure more frequently than usual this summer it is likely that our public website and page will sometimes temporarily lag behind in order to prioritize keeping the areas current students use (private online portal and private Facebook group) up to date. Your understanding and patience are appreciated!

I'd like to end with a quote from Shinichi Suzuki. This brilliant pedagogue created the Suzuki method in the aftermath of World War II and believed deeply in music's potential to preserve our humanity. He also tried to emphasize that each teacher continue the work he started and adapt their approach to suit their students, a belief that is at the core of my own philosophy.

"Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens.* If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline, and endurance. They get a beautiful heart."

- Shinichi Suzuki

* I would replace the word "citizens" with "humans"

(Thanks to one of our studio parents for sending this video)

I Can't Breathe: Cellist Performs Dido's Lament for Black Lives Matter Protest NYC Cellist Yves Dharamraj performs a five-cello arrangement of "When I am laid in earth" (Dido's Lament) from Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas as a protest f...