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Community Impact If you can see it, you can be it: <br />Presenting music by a historically underrepresented group within western <br />classical music (female composers) and featuring several artists of color is <br />an aspect of this series which seeks to appeal to a variety of community <br />members. As a co-artistic director of the community organization MYCO, <br />and as a private violin instructor to several pre-college students, many of <br />my students of South Asian descent have asked me "why is there nobody <br />who looks like me when I watch the Berlin Philharmonic?" If you can see it, <br />you can be it, which is one of the reasons that featuring an artist such as <br />cellist Raman Ramakrishnan (Gut Instinct concert 1) is so important within <br />our community here in Orange County. (In fact, according to zipatlas.com, <br />individuals of Indian/South Asian descent comprise over 7% of the 27514 <br />population.) There are South Asian students both at MYCO and at UNC <br />who are interested in pursuing music further, and seeing/hearing an artist <br />of Raman's caliber, while inspiring to any music-lover, is also incredibly <br />important and motivating for the young South Asian music students within <br />our local community. <br />Accessible historic collection: <br />Making the historic pianos housed at UNC Chapel Hill's Person Recital Hall <br />a living, breathing example of the music and culture of the time and places <br />that they are from is important to me as an artist-scholar. Creating an <br />accessible, free, open, and relatable platform for these instruments to sing <br />and to reach the ears, eyes, and hearts of the community is a part of my <br />mission and vision. These instruments are not meant to be only viewed, <br />pictured, written about, or studied! As an artist based in Orange County, I <br />am continually looking for meaningful ways to connect the research I do at <br />the university with the community at large. One example of this is the work I <br />do with the community organization MYCO (www.mycomusic.org). The Gut <br />Instinct Chamber Music Project represents another type of symbiosis <br />between community and university which I, as an artist and scholar, feel <br />that it is my responsibility and calling to pursue. <br />Interaction with students: <br />Through Gut Instinct's partnership with MYCO, guest artists will provide <br />masterclasses, coachings, and workshops for local music students in the <br />MYCO program and beyond. This added layer of community interaction is <br />extremely important to me as an artist. I want my students within the <br />community to have firsthand, up-close experiences with the same people <br />that they are witnessing giving moving, expert performances. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: D5BDC3D7-8023-4F0D-854E-21C6FC53C5A0