#COMBAconference26
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The College of Music Black Alliance (COMBA) is thrilled and deeply grateful to announce that Dr. Matthew D. Morrison will serve as the keynote speaker for our 2026 COMBA Conference. From the moment we reached out, Dr. Morrison responded with such graciousness and excitement, making it even more special for us to welcome him to our community.
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We are also proud that the College of Music will host Dr. Morrison as a Houseright Fellow during his visit. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Morrison is a musicologist, violinist, and Associate Professor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Columbia University and has been a fellow with the American Council of Learned Societies, Harvard University, and the Library of Congress.
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His work has appeared in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Women and Performance, and several Oxford publications. Having someone of his caliber—both as a scholar and advocate—join us is an incredible honor. We cannot wait to learn from him.
A letter from the voices of disheartened students
Written by DaSean Stokes and Gordon Cortney
This is an open letter from one disheartened student to another, though its message is for all–for the afflicted and the afflicters, the oppressed and the oppressors. It is for those who resonate with its content and those who walk away deafened by the noise of their own privilege and self-affirming righteousness.
