Conference 2021 Reflections: Ed Yim

The in-depth conversations at Conference 2021 were guided by our five emcees, each focusing on critical question that framed the day’s sessions. Ed Yim, Chief Content Officer and Senior Vice President, WQXR/New York Public Radio, lead the theme New Directions.

By Ed Yim

New Directions was the theme of a day of Conference sessions, and it was honor to emcee the day and moderate one of the panel discussions.

Look, I know it’s been a terrible, dreadful, cataclysmic year for all of us. But the commitment and creativity from the amazing group of people we heard from on Tuesday will carry me forward into the coming year with a profound sense of commitment and hope. To hear Titus and his colleagues calling for us to examine deeply what it means to be an American orchestra. To ponder what it means to connect truly and deeply and continuously with our communities and whether we can keep doing it as we come into the new normal. To shine a light on the hard questions that the AAPI community is asking right now (including whether AAPI is even a useful term).

I feel like the field is asking new questions. Hard questions. Good questions. And that makes me hopeful for new directions, not just going back to the way things were in the before time.