Why Should we WANT to Engage?
Donna Emmanuel (University of North Texas)
Within CMS, there are multiple opportunities for a variety of musical interactions, including engagement activities at national and regional conferences, seed grants for one-time projects, or projects over time. For each of these venues, there might be many differing motivations for developing engagement activities. What reasons are important for YOU to participate in community engagement? Is it to contribute to the well-being of people in differing contexts? To develop social capital? To nurture cultural competence? To sustain our art forms? To add a line item to our vitas? To focus on populations we feel are in musical need? Are all of these (and multiple others) valid? SHOULD they be? And where does the JOY of making music together fit in all this?