Annika Socolofsky's first major new music experience—Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble performing Golijov, Zhou Long, Lou Harrison in one program—sent a clear message: music making can be radically inclusive. She walked into the field expecting that and was rudely surprised when people tried to gatekeep aesthetics, notation, or modes of making. She's stubborn enough to keep fighting for those inclusive spaces. Now she tells students: you don't have to like the piece I assign; if you hate it, come back and tell me why. She doesn't listen to much classical music except her friends' work, but she loves pieces that rub her the wrong way—they teach her about her tastes. One clarinet-flute moment from a piece she doesn't care for has stuck with her weekly for a decade. Classical music treats pieces like precious stones, untouchable and perfect. But if you know it's okay not to like things, you won't take it personally when someone doesn't like yours.
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micro/Maker is a production of Loose Leaf Transmissions: Made for All Ears.