Iowa Music Education Conference

This month, I presented at Iowa’s Music Educator’s Conference in Ames, Iowa. It was wonderful to be able to see Iowa State’s campus and get to know some of Iowa’s wonderful music educators.

There were a ton of exhibitors and presenters, and I was lucky enough to see a great session on staying more organized as a choir teacher.

In my session, I talked about the need for gender inclusivity in the choir room. That includes understanding the basics of the trans experience (for cis teachers), as well as being aware of just how gendered the choir room is! Choir directors often say “ladies” or “gentleman” when referring to the sopranos and altos or the tenors and basses. When you have a gender diverse choir, you might have trans boys singing in the alto section or trans girls singing bass. It’s so important to show that all voices are beautiful, and that they never need to match society’s expectations of what certain people’s voices “should” sound like. But it’s also important to allow students to sing the voice part that affirms their gender however they see fit.

There were many teachers at my presentation who have trans students in their choir room and shared how they navigate gender non-conforming children changing voice parts, experiencing bullying, and even concert dress. I was amazed at these teachers’ empathy and care for their students, as well as their talent and creativity.

Creating a safe and inclusive choir room is so important! Especially as we see rights being taken away from trans children in sports, and in so many other areas of their lives.