First Episode of RefleXions and KUAF Podcast Launches Today, Features 'Sing for Hope'

RefleXions Music Series, a project funded by the University of Arkansas Chancellor's Grant for the Humanities and Performing Arts Initiative, has partnered with KUAF 91.3 to produce the new RefleXions Podcast, which will debut at noon Tuesday, Nov. 17 during the station's Ozarks at Large show.

KUAF 91.3, the local National Public Radio affiliate for Northwest and Western Arkansas, is one of the sponsors of the RefleXions Music Series, which is also supported by the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and its Department of Music.

Camille Zamora, left, and Monica Yunus, co-founders of Sing for Hope.

Above and below: special events in New York featuring Sing for Hope pianos.

The first episode of the new podcast series will feature "Sing for Hope" co-founders Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora, who also joined the U of A this fall for a virtual residency.

"The RefleXions Podcast is an accompaniment to the RefleXions Music Series," said Antoinette Grajeda, producer and co-host of the podcast. "In each episode, we'll have conversations with our guest artists that expand beyond their music and careers. We'll explore the way they use their art to connect, inspire, reflect and advocate for social justice and diversity."

Grajeda said internationally acclaimed sopranos Yunus and Zamora will be the first episode's featured guests, adding that they'll be speaking "in a candid and eloquent dialogue about Sing for Hope's beginnings, their responses to the COVID crisis, and the pressing need to diversify our arts organizations at every level."

Yunus and Zamora started "Sing for Hope" while studying at the Julliard School of Music in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, understanding then that music had the power to heal their community and to provide solace in the midst of chaos.

Now, "Sing for Hope" is an "artists' peace corps" that reaches millions of people annually worldwide.

Leigh Wood, KUAF's general manager, said the station is proud to partner with the RefleXions Music Series.

"We're also very happy to work on the podcast," Wood said. "And in this first episode, Antoinette brings her tremendous talent to introducing the community to Monica and Camille and all the good work that 'Sing for Hope' does."

Lia Uribe, podcast co-host and director of RefleXions Music Series, agreed adding that Grajeda and Wood have been essential collaborators for this next initiative in the series.

"The podcast has opened the possibility of a full-circle dialog with our communities in Northwest Arkansas," Uribe said. "After the release of this first episode of the RefleXions Podcast on Ozarks at Large, our listeners will have the opportunity to get back to us with their own reflections. We believe that art doesn't stop with artists. We need communities, audiences, art advocates, art administrators and leaders all working together to disrupt traditional structures and promote transforming experiences for all."

Podcast listeners can email RefleXionsMusicSeries@gmail.com or leave a message on the RefleXionsMusic.org website to share their reflections, feedback and ideas for the podcast.

To listen to the podcast, visit KUAF 91.3. 

About the RefleXions Music Series: RefleXions was conceived as a celebration of music, musicians, advocates and audiences, and as a series of events that foster creative justice and diversity through opportunities to reflect, learn, grow, change and teach. The RefleXions team is a collective of U of A individuals from different backgrounds who bring unique perspectives and commitment to the highest standards of scholarship, research and aesthetic diversity. The team includes Erika Almenara of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Rogelio Garcia-Contreras of the Sam M. Walton College of Business; Antoinette Grajeda and Leigh Wood of KUAF 91.3; Ronda Mains, Catalina Ortega, Eric Troiano and Lia Uribe of the Department of Music; and students Connor Gott, Olga Khokhryakova, Liz Luzcando and Bailey Ross. Learn more about the RefleXions Music Series and its upcoming events at Reflexionsmusic.org.