The United States faces an unprecedented challenge over the next three decades as the demographic mix of its citizens undergoes a unique transformation. Because America’s diversity has always been one of its strengths, the coming transition offers a tremendous opportunity, but these changes also have the potential to create conflict.
Music has the potential to contribute to the success of this transition and help unite us as a society. Over the past century communications technology has democratized music by making a tremendous variety of styles widely available. This has increased personal eclecticism in musical tastes, which in turn helps blur the boundaries separating musical genres, social classes, and ethnic and racial groups. Despite this, music can still serve as a powerful marker of identity, and therefore, while it can contribute to the building of community, it can also be used to wound and divide. The Musical Alliance seeks to align the existing community of musicians and music lovers in order to use music as a tool for good.
Those who create music or encounter it in live performance share a common ground that transcends their differences in musical preference and sensibility. The Musical Alliance seeks to unite the entire community of Americans having an interest in music—of the broadest possible range—in order to build bridges between individuals, cultures and classes. The alliance encourages its members to use their music to build bridges to each other, and to envision those creative encounters as metaphors for living in the world.
For information: info@musicalalliance.org