Composing Justice, Sounding Resistance, Staging Solidarity | Music in a Time of Crisis Series

Name: Composing Justice, Sounding Resistance, Staging Solidarity | Music in a Time of Crisis Series
Start: 2026-03-30T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall

Schedule

Mon, 30 Mar, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall | Minneapolis, MN

The second panel in the Music in a Time of Crises series examines how composers, venues, and cultural networks mediate, shape, and mobilize collective action. The conversation explores the creative, pedagogical, and infrastructural practices that structure musical responses to civic strain and enable the articulation of collective views. How does an individual move from silence to song, from good intent to effective intervention? What does it mean for a stage to become a site of collective expression? Together, the panelists consider how artistic practice and cultural infrastructure intersect to shape public life through leadership, ecosystem-building, and collective voice. The conversation will include opportunities for shared singing.
This School of Music event is free & open to the public.
Panelists: Abbie Betinis, Dayna Frank, & Nadirah McGill
Artist Bios
Abbie Betinis
Composer Abbie Betinis creates music called “inventive” (The New York Times), and “joyful… shattering, incandescent” (Boston Globe). With performances from Carnegie Hall to Disney Hall, cathedrals to campfires, state prisons to capitol buildings, her music transports audiences through storytelling, relevance, and craft. A two-time McKnight Artist Fellow and recognized by Musical America for her “ability to use her talents to effect social change,” Abbie is co-editor of the Justice Choir Songbook (2017) – a collaborative resource for community transformation through singing – now used in schools, streets, prisons, faith communities, and protest movements nationwide. An advocate for small business and artist rights, Abbie has presented on copyright and publishing at national conferences, organized national exhibits for independent publishers, and has been a community liaison to the board of the American Composers Forum. She lives in Minnesota, where she has taught composition at St. Olaf College and Concordia University-St Paul, and hosts Schubert Club's eclectic weekly concert series.
Dayna Frank
Dayna Frank is President and CEO of First Avenue Productions. Originally founded in 1970, First Avenue promotes over 1,200 shows annually and owns and operates the Fine Line, Turf Club, Palace Theatre, and Fitzgerald Theater, as well as the First Avenue Mainroom & 7th St Entry. Dayna is co-founder and a Board Member of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), who rallied music lovers and lobbied Congress, securing $16.25 billion dollars to Save Our Stages. Dayna is a 2018 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Rolling Stone Future 25 2021, Billboard Women in Music Top Executive, pickleball champion, and firm believer in community building through live music. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife and two sons.
Nadirah McGill
Nadirah is a musician and organizer based in Minneapolis, MN. With a passion for deep and intentional community care in the face of individualism and scarcity, they have dedicated their career to centering joy at the core of all their work, both as an organizer and a musician.
Nadirah began organizing in 2014 while in college almost by happy accident. As the lead organizer with Twin Cities United Performers, Nadirah organizes, leads, and supports a team of leaders, musicians, and performers in the Minneapolis music community and beyond. Their work focuses on empowering artists to feel informed and mobilized toward a more equitable and just industry—one where the labor of performers is valued, recognized, and protected.
They hold a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Music Business from Augsburg University. Outside of work, you can find Nadirah behind the drum kit on stage with their band, Gully Boys, or at home snuggling their cats, Russell and Randall, while binge-watching Bridgerton.