MANSFIELD, PA— André de Quadros, conductor, 
ethnomusicologist, human rights activist and music educator, will make three public presentations while in residence at Mansfield University on October 13-14. All presentations are free and open to the public.
On Monday, October 13 at 4:30 p.m., de Quadros will present “Should Music be a Human Right? A Case for Music Education and Social Justice” in Butler Center, Room 163.
Also on October 13, 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 67 E. Wellsboro Street in Mansfield, his topic will be “Music and the Arts in Pursuit of a Better World.”
On Tuesday, October 14, 10 a.m. in Butler Center, Room 163, de Quadros will address the topic “Are Muslims allowed to Sing? Music, Muslims, and a Nuanced Understanding.”
Having undertaken research in over 40 countries, de Quadros is a professor of Music at Boston University where he also holds affiliated faculty appointments in the African Studies Center, the Center for the Study of Asia, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations and the Prison Education Program. His research interests lie in arts and health, incarceration, music of the Muslim world and Indonesia, community choruses and peace and conflict.
While the arts have largely served middle class interests in Western society and increasingly in the rest of the world, recently, more attention has been paid to the potential contribution of the arts to a range of social change projects and collaborations, particularly in public health, incarceration and conflict resolution. De Quadros will argue that many professionals have not yet fully realized the potential of music and the other arts to mobilize poor communities and to provide meaningful contexts for health education, community transformation and empowerment.
Peggy Dettwiler, director of Choral Activities at MU, met de Quadros while participating in the World Choral Symposium in Korea last August. It was there that she attended two of his sessions and worked with his choir from Indonesia, which has also appeared with the Mansfield University choirs in three of the last four World Choir Games. Dettwiler arranged for de Quadros to visit Mansfield and believes that his sessions will be life-changing because of his vast experience in communities around the world.
Also while at MU, de Quadros will coach the University choirs.
The presentations are sponsored by the Office of Diversity and the Music Department and supported by student activity fees.