Taking Another Listen: Engaging New Audience Members of Color

Executive directors, artistic administrators, marketing staff, musicians, conductors, composers, programming staff, board members, and anyone interested in connecting with classical music lovers of all communities.

• $20 for members
• $35 for non-members

Emilio Alvarez (he/him)
Music Director, Host and Producer, WRR-FM Dallas, KMFA-FM Austin

Emilio is a life-long cellist, who turned his passion for performance, composition, and improvisation into a career in broadcast and production. He has recorded with award-winning artists in Classical, Jazz, and Latin music. For the past decade, he has worked to reform public media practices in music programming and fundraising. Today, Emilio brings his background in cross-cultural programming to the forefront of one of the largest markets, and one of the most historic radio stations in the country, as Music Director of WRR-FM in Dallas, with the mission of “Classical for Everyone”; while also hosting a morning program at KMFA-FM in Austin.

Jennifer Arnold (she/her)
Violist, Arts Administrator, DEIB Advocate

Jennifer Arnold is a violist, arts consultant, and diversity advocate currently based in the Netherlands. With a passion for expanding the symphonic canon, she focuses on creating platforms for diverse voices in classical music. Jennifer previously served as Director of Artistic Planning and Orchestral Operations for the Richmond Symphony and is currently their Artistic Advisor. She also consults for the Gateways Music Festival and serves as Director of Summer Programs, Career Advisor, and Advisor to the Black Student Union at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she is an alumna. She is in her final year as a member of Cohort 5 in the Sphinx LEAD program. 

Jennifer spent 15 seasons as a section violist with the Oregon Symphony and performs with ensembles like the Gateways Festival Orchestra, Sphinx Symphony, Chineke! Orchestra, and mousai REMIX. A founding member of the Black Orchestral Network, she holds memberships with  ASTA, SAA, AFM Local 99, WOCA, and the Urban League. Outside of music, Jennifer spends her time volunteering, mentoring, languages, traveling, and karaoke. Follow her on IG and Twitter @24caratviola. 

Dr. Michelle Ernst (she/her)
Senior Research Scientist, Slover Linett at NORC

A developmental psychologist by training, Michelle uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to help arts and culture organizations connect with diverse communities and create more meaningful experiences. Michelle’s work focuses on understanding audience behavior, perceptions, values, and motivations for participating, and on illuminating the individual- and community-level impacts of engagement.

Michelle joined Slover Linett Audience Research in 2017, and she was a senior researcher and quantitative lead at Slover Linett when that practice joined NORC in 2023. Her research and evaluation studies have generated critical insights for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, CalArts, MIT, The Morgan Library & Museum, Rubin Museum of Art, Washington National Opera, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cleveland Play House, SFJAZZ, Folk Alliance International, and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, among other cultural nonprofits. Michelle is an expert on data collection methods in arts, culture, and community settings, and her work includes consulting and training for cultural organizations on community and participant sampling, survey design, and statistical analysis.

Dr. Mieko Hatano (she/her)
Executive Director, Oakland Symphony, Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, Oakland Symphony Chorus

Dr. Mieko Hatano joined the Oakland Symphony in 2018 as Executive Director. She continues to define and execute the strategic vision and values of inclusive, accessible, and innovative artistic. A lifelong musician, Mieko was awarded an Executive Arts Management Fellow at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. in 2011 and has since been featured as one of Musical America’s “Rising Stars in Orchestra Leadership.” In 2022, Mieko was named one of San Francisco Business Times “Most Influential Women in Business.” She holds a DMA & MM from University of Southern California and a BM from University of Michigan and previously served as Executive Director of the Augusta Symphony, GA, and Music in the Mountains, CA. Mieko currently serves as a councilor on the board of the USC Radio Group/Classical California, director on the boards of Visit Oakland and the Association of California Symphony Orchestras as well as in an advisory capacity for Maestro Games, a social purpose corporation working with first responders, research institutions and healthcare providers to develop wellness and resilience technology.

Dr. Tanya Treptow (she/her)
Senior Research Scientist, Slover Linett at NORC

Tanya, as co-director of Slover Linett at NORC, works toward greater equity, vitality, and co-creation in the arts and culture sector through strategic audience and community research. Her studies blend qualitative and quantitative methods to illuminate how people experience the world, how they connect, and how creative experiences contribute to the well-being of individuals and communities.

Tanya joined Slover Linett Audience Research in 2015 and helped guide Slover Linett’s move to NORC in 2023. Her equity-driven research and evaluation work sparks change and supports decision-making at a wide range of arts, culture, and community organizations, as well as broader change initiatives. Tanya’s clients and partners have included the Barr Foundation, Folk Alliance International, Minnesota Orchestra, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, a group of jazz radio stations, and the international OF/BY/FOR ALL movement, among many others. As part of Slover Linett’s national research collaboration, Culture + Community in a Time of Transformation, Tanya co-authored “A Place to Be Heard, A Space to Feel Held: Black Perspectives on Creativity, Trustworthiness, Welcome and Well-Being.” She has also contributed to reports about the needs of working musicians in the US and how classical music radio stations can become more welcoming to listeners of color.