I am delighted to share the news that my textbook, Learning to Listen, is now available for purchase from Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. Learn more, buy a copy, or request a faculty review copy on the publisher’s website here: https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/learning-listen

Music listening skills are vital for success in any music course and are also profoundly transferable skills for life and work. Particularly for non-majors with minimal background or training, coming into perhaps the only music class they will ever take, the prospect of listening, analyzing, and writing about music which is new to them can be intimidating. 

Learning to Listen is the result of many years of teaching a broad range of non-major music classes. Designed as a concise, affordable add-on to the curriculum for any existing music course, the book shares strategies which have proved most valuable in helping a diverse range of students build their confidence as music listeners.

The book takes a student-centered, anti-racist approach, validating the reader’s lived experiences as a music listener and analyzing the challenges all listeners face in the 21^st century, before delving into tangible, specific strategies that can be employed to build confidence and practice listening skills. Musical examples featured in the book are drawn from an array of musical genres and time periods, with an emphasis on musical creators typically underrepresented in music curricula.

Sunday, August 22, 2021 – 3pm – Lakewold Gardens

Artist’s Statement:

Self-reflection over the past several years of my work as a teacher and performer, though, has brought me to the obvious and painful realization that my own training and education was full of gaps – especially when it comes to exploring and celebrating the music of composers of color. And I am not alone – in this moment, all who are working as performers and teachers, eager to share classical music with new generations, have a lot of work to do to break down the white supremacy embedded in our music-making.

All of this is shared as context for the music I have chosen to share on this program – eight pieces by eight different black composers, representing a wide array of styles and time periods. Each piece spoke to me in its own unique way, and I feel that together, they begin to share just some of the phenomenal, diverse, and vital contributions made to the piano repertoire by black composers.

In addition to solo piano works by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Robert Nathaniel Dett, Margaret Bonds, Adolphus Hailstork, and Jonathan Bailey Holland, I am delighted to collaborate with flutist Drew Shipman in sharing works for flute and piano by William Grant Still and Jasmine Barnes. Drew’s socially progressive programming and powerful musicianship have inspired me immensely over the past few years, and I don’t know that I would be sharing this program without his support – please join me in wishing him well as he heads off to graduate study at Northwestern University this fall!

Finally, it is difficult to put into words how meaningful it is for me that my mother’s work will be part of the artistic experience for those who attend this concert. A skilled musician as well as an artist, she is a rock of support for me for each new project I take on, providing feedback and inspiration every step of the way. The works she shares during this program were inspired directly by the program itself, and we hope that they provide an additional lens through which to experience the musical statements made by the featured composers.

On Thursday, December 5, 2019, Kim Davenport presented a multimedia journey through Tacoma’s musical history. In a program including live performance, video, and historic photographs, Kim shared some of her favorite stories of musicians and musical events from our city’s past.

Thanks to support from a Tacoma Artists Initiative Program grant from the City of Tacoma Arts Commission, you can view the event in video form even if you were unable to attend live:

After many years of planning, I am delighted to share the news that construction is complete, and my new home studio space is finally up and running! Not only does it sound terrific, but it’s a large enough space to handle small recitals – providing me with more flexibility to schedule recitals when they are best for specific students’ needs.

I also plan to utilize the space to put on small performances of my own, something I haven’t had the flexibility to do for some time.

I look forward to sharing more pictures, and heck, audio and video as well, in the near future!

UPDATE! Since its launch just over a year ago, the TacomaMusicHistory.org blog has really taken off! Dozens of posts have shared my research, as well as that of colleagues, and most dear to my heart, students!

***

ORIGINAL POST:

This new site, launched in June 2017, is devoted to sharing stories from the diverse musical history of Tacoma, Washington, the City of Destiny.  The goal of bringing these stories to an online environment is to take advantage of the ability to easily share interactive, multimedia resources.

The concept behind this site began as Kim was planning to teach a new course she designed for UW Tacoma, “Musical History of Tacoma”. Her intention in developing the site is to share some of her own work, link to resources publicly available online, and especially to share the best of her students’ work. The online environment is ideal, as it will allow for easy sharing of links, audio and video, and photographs.