You are not going to want to miss this talk from Montpelier’s favorite middle school choral director, musician, composer, and ethnomusicologist! Christiana Athena-Blackwell will discuss themes from her recent book publication, “Culturally Responsive Teaching in a High School Percussion Ensemble: Validating Immigrant Identities.” She will describe a case study based in Somerville, MA, about a Brazilian community and samba music as a means for connecting students to their identities and each other. She will discuss themes of identity development, music identity, transience, cultural hybridity, immigration, empathy building, and intercultural exchange.