Remember, Be Love: Dr. Mary Cohen on Music, Prison Choirs, and Forgiveness

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of inTUNE: Stories of Connection Through Music, Dr. Melissa Martiros sits down with Dr. Mary Cohen, Professor of Music Education at the University of Iowa and co-leader of IMAJIN, for a wide-ranging conversation about what music makes possible when it's built on genuine relationship.Mary's signature project was the Oakdale Community Choir, which she led from 2009 to 2020,  bringing together nearly 100 incarcerated and non-incarcerated singers who collectively wrote 150 original songs. When COVID halted the choir and the Iowa Department of Corrections chose not to restart it, Mary created the Inside/Outside Collaborative Songwriting Project, pairing incarcerated and non-incarcerated musicians to build relationships through original songwriting entirely outside the prison system's permission structure.Key ThemesMusic as a tool for building common humanity across the inside/outside divideWhat it means to grieve a program and keep going anywayCollaborative songwriting when physical access is deniedGenerative justice as a framework for responding to harm with careThe Pulse: Practical Strategies for Building Engagement Programs Rooted in Care, Reciprocity, and CommunityDesign for relationship, not just participationCenter reciprocity from the startKnow the system you're working insideMake creative authorship centralGrieve what ends — then build what's nextFind your JimMusic Featured"May the Stars Remember Your Name" — written by Kenneth Bailey"Remember Be Love" — written by Michael Blackwell and Rebecca Swanson"Four Times Bonita" — written by Efrain Umaña"10 Years (In Memory of Mike)" — written by JD Mack and Matt Kearney"How Shall We Come Together" — written by Maggie Wheeler, performed with the Oakdale Community ChoirIntro and outro music written and produced by opporTUNEity students.Find Dr. Mary Cohen & Her WorkRemember Be Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdssrgUwG3c&t=11sOakdale Community Choir: https://oakdalechoir.lib.uiowa.edu/Songs of Generative Justice: https://songsofgenerativejustice.bandcamp.com/IMAJIN Caring Communities: https://www.imajincaringcommunities.com/Music Making in U.S. Prisons: https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/M/Music-Making-in-U.S.-PrisonsMaggie Wheeler:Maggie's Bandcamp: https://maggiewheeler.bandcamp.com/Maggie's Choir: https://www.goldenbridgechoir.comCorrection: Correction: Over its 11 years, the Oakdale Community Choir included a total of 300 members—164 inside (incarcerated) singers and 136 outside (non-incarcerated) singers. At its peak, approximately 80 singers performed together at one time.Get in Touch https://opporTUNEitymusic.org/intuneEpisode produced and edited by Angela Senicz. https://opporTUNEitymusic.orgLearn more about our programs, stories, and community at https://opporTUNEitymusic.org