Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Last school year, Elise Hill (MM ’24) and Eren Brooks’ (MM ‘25) synergy as co-presidents allowed Longy’s Black Student Union (BSU) to blossom. Now that Hill has graduated, Brooks is ready to take that solid foundation and start building on her own.
When Brooks joined Hill as co-president last year, it was all about ensuring the BSU could continue to serve as a cultural resource for students. “I wanted to create something for everyone at our music conservatory,” she said.
Although both student leaders had many other commitments outside the BSU, the support the duo offered each other culminated in notable events like a meet-and-greet with legendary American composer Adolphus Hailstork in collaboration with Longy ensemble-in-residence Castle of our Skins.
Elise Hill and Eren Brooks
Now, with Hill moving on to pursue her Doctor of Musical Arts at Boston University in the fall, Brooks is energized by the thought of sharing the beauty and cultural significance of Black music with the incoming Class of 2026. She has no shortage of ideas for creative programming, honed through a year of observing Hill’s leadership and her own undergraduate experience.
Her first initiative will be to inspire community-wide conversations about Black music and motivate students who are unfamiliar with the genre to engage thoughtfully with it. “As incoming president, I plan to expand and encourage the learning of Black music in America, as well as the African Diaspora. Black music is just as important as any other genre of music, and I want to show how it is influential.”
While fostering a culture of collaborative learning and discovery, she will also invite BSU members to honor significant dates in Black history through events that highlight the long-standing social and political impacts of Black music.
“One event I would like to plan is a Zydeco music party for Mardi Gras in the spring. Zydeco is a sub-genre founded in Louisiana, which was inspired by big band music. I would also like to plan a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event centered around the Civil Rights era and the music that drove the movement, and a Kwanzaa-centered event.”
The largest of these will be a Black History Month celebration spanning February, during which Brooks aims to generate a shift in the way African American history is regarded.
“For Black History Month, I would love to do a month-long celebration of music and Black joy. Oftentimes, people tend to focus on the tough and traumatic side of African American and Diasporic history. Though it is important to know where we as Black people came from, it is still equally as important to highlight all the great things that contribute to and help encapsulate Black joy.”
When Hill was in the president’s role, the BSU created a space for cultural awareness where student leaders could feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to the table, with no expectation of perfection.
As the fall semester approaches, Brooks will adopt a similar approach to recruiting new BSU members, stimulating school-wide exploration of Black music and history through programming that sparks curiosity and wonder. “I want to make the club accessible to all who want to join and understand the nuances of Black culture.”