Music to Life brings workshop and showcase to Cincinnati

We’re living in an era when protest songs—and new generations of musicians—are more needed than ever. Keeping some of that spirit alive are Noel “Paul” Stookey of legendary ’60s folk group Peter, Paul & Mary, and his daughter Liz Stookey Sunde, co-founders of Music to Life, a national mission-based music organization. The nonprofit’s raison d’être is to provide local musicians around the country with skills and strategies to help them put their community-focused concepts into action.
           
Executive Director Liz Stookey Sunde cites her childhood experiences as an inspiration for her work. “I spent my childhood surrounded by music and musicians who were dedicated to using their talent in service to contemporary causes,” she said. “Early on, I witnessed the profound capacity of that music to transform audiences. This fueled me to pursue work in the social change field.”

She explained that her role in Music to Life involves carrying on the legacy of social change music—and bringing that legacy into today’s world and music industry to serve their network of more than 400 artists across the country.

Over time, the organization’s work evolved from producing songwriting contests, multimedia programs, educational panels, and commemorative events into its current focus.

“The more we worked with artists, the more they told us they needed more than a simple platform for their music,” Sunde said. “Dad and I thus created Music to Life to build an ecosystem of training, mentorship, resources, and networks to empower musicians as social entrepreneurs and establish them as community leaders.” The artists also needed funding for their ideas, business skills to turn these inventive ideas into sustainable programs and a network of like-minded artists.

That includes like-minded artists like those in Cincinnati. Music to Life is coming to Cincinnati to present their all-day Musician Changemaker Accelerator (MCA) Workshop for selected local musicians on Thursday, November 14, followed by a public community showcase event on Friday, November 15 at Urban Artifact. 

Sunde explained that Music to Life’s connections to Cincinnati date back to 2018, when former Cincinnati mayor and TV personality Jerry Springer and Jene Galvin invited them to help identify musician changemakers in the city, including Regis Jones (K-Drama), Casey Campbell, Jordana Greenberg, and the Tillers.

Among the local musicians participating in this year’s MCA program are Siri Imani, Preston Charles III, Deuces II and Mika Komoru. “The showcase is an opportunity for a select and highly diverse group of these artists to share their stories, their ideas, and the music they’ve grown through their lived experiences and the culture of Cincinnati,” Sunde said.

They can also plan to participate in a follow-up session in December facilitated by the Cincinnati Music Accelerator. Because the MCA is an intensive leadership/entrepreneurial training, the idea is to solidify what they learned.

But before that, at the end of the MCA workshop, the musicians will have the chance to pitch their community-based concepts to a handful of influential mentors—Shark Tank-style but not exactly, she noted, because it’s about community projects.

The MCA workshop works through three core areas of focus, but it all starts with the musician creating a multi-purpose value statement.

“It really pushed them to ask, ‘What do I really care about and how do I really want to manifest that caring in a very real way through a program that uses my music?” Goals also include the artists stepping into their communities to collaborate with those who are already working on social issues towards change.

Sunde added, “The process immediately turns the artist into a creative injection that can go in and be collaborative at the same time they’re being creative.”

The public can sign up for free tickets to attend the "Making Music, Making Change" Community Showcase here, limited spaces available. 

For additional details about the Community Showcase, check the Radio Artifact Facebook upcoming events listings.