To all members of the School of Music community, There are simply no words to describe the events of the past week. The barbaric and horrific killing of George Floyd has left indescribable pain in its wake as our nation struggles to understand and confront its deeply ingrained systemic racial inequities, injustices, and hypocrisies.

Like other courses across the University of Minnesota, Fernando Meza’s Percussion Studio Class had to adapt to an online format when COVID-19 interrupted the semester. Meza is adjusting to the absence of being in the same place by giving students a unique experience: creating international connections for his students in the new virtual environment.

PhD Candidate (music education) Roque Diaz currently serves as the Director of School Partnerships at MacPhail Center for Music, a state leader in virtual Music Education. We had a discussion with him to learn more about how his role plays into the quickly-expanding alternative learning environment that we are experiencing today. We also learned how his role has changed to adapt to the new learning situation. 

Jerry Luckhardt, Associate Professor and Associate Director of Bands, took a Spring 20 sabbatical to partner with SOM alumnus and high school band director, Bradley Mariska to create a podcast series for band directors. We caught up with him to find out how his project, “Band in Minnesota,” is going.