Marshall Hughes: For a long time, I was the musical director for SANS, an international choral exchange. It was exciting and humbling to visit the then Soviet Union and go to restricted (closed) cities and share food and homes with Russian artists and musicians who wanted to share music and art. It was also amazing to have them come to the US.  We were determined to have them see the true fabric of this country; to show them the many shades of the people here. We saw Soviet States gain their independence and raise their flags and struggle into the 20 th century. It was a great way to break down barriers.

I also founded an opera company, Opera unMet here in Boston; all entendres intended. We were not the Met; we tried to fulfill unmet dreams, etc. I like to think of the company as the keeper of voices. It was great putting these amazing voices on stage to sing some of the great classics, Aida, Magic Flute, Carmen, Porgy and Bess to name a few.  But best was doing it with a diverse cast of soloists and chorus whose main objective was to sing beautiful music.

My most favorite on-going event is Ties That Bind: A Different Kind of Celebration for Martin Luther King Day. Members of unMet have been coming back to Boston for over a dozen years to participate in this interactive musical celebration. We like it because it’s spatial and leaves room for the audience to breathe and be reflective. The show is like a comfortable sweater that you put on at home when you gather around family and friends. It is very eclectic. We’ve had everything from modern dance to Taiko drummers as guest artists, nestled in with comfortable old Negro spirituals and readings from Langston Hughes. There’s something for all ages in the performances. I just think King is smiling at the audience and performers because this is the kind of dialogue/ interaction he really wanted.

Currently it is an exciting time as Director of Visual, Performing, and Media Arts at Roxbury Community College.  For me kids, all kids, are our future. By that I mean not only ‘at risk’ kids or ‘privileged’ kids, just kids. I feel if we give them the tools to explore and permission to think outside the box, and a safe place to fail and succeed, we have a better chance at motivating them to be the best that they can be. We’ve started a Repertory Theater Company that casts inter-generational as well as diverse. We have internships for kids in behind-the-scenes and back stage positions (we all know that’s where the money is!). We partner with colleges, theaters, and even the Boston Ballet and Boston Symphony Orchestra on everything from after-school string lessons to on-stage productions in hopes to get folks involved in art as a discipline and as an adventure.

NC: You appear to be driven by a very strong sense of community.  Although you are not originally from Massachusetts, you have become a very important source of support for the Boston community and beyond.  How did this sense of community develop and when did it become germane to your thinking?

MH: Community has always been relevant to me. When I was growing up (oh one of those stories!) in the heart of Detroit, an individual’s education was a community affair. You didn’t have a set of parents, every adult in the neighborhood—even the drunk at the corner store—was your parent; your aunt, uncle or grandmother. They had permission to support, scold, encourage and nurture. I came out of an urban environment that allowed me, demanded me to be the best. Most of my adult neighbors were not necessarily well educated or well to do. But they had a great sense of knowing that youth was a thing to be nurtured. Whether it was basketball or Bach, we neighborhood kids were encouraged to pursue things outside of that five block radius. It didn’t matter that the adults didn’t understand what we were doing, it mattered that we tried, and had a safe place to retreat and share. And they knew when to push you out of the nest. Those kinds of environments are fading fast. I hope it’s cyclical and will return…

But I carry that sense of community with me and try to nurture and collaborate in the same sense. I’m lucky to have landed in a place that allows me to think and be creative and act outside the box.

NC: You have a very developed sense of musical and artistic taste and a high level of virtuosity in regards to your own creative aspirations. How do you deconstruct your own intellectual and creative impulses to form them into a communicable message for educational purposes?

MH:  Thanks! I’m gonna quote you. Balance, discovery and generosity are a few of the things I find work in education.  I’ve learned for me that breaking things down to their basic elements is a good way to help folks understand a thing. ‘Basic Element’ takes on a different meaning for different individuals. It’s like a pointillist painting. As one steps back, the picture comes in focus sooner for some folks than others. You have to know when an individual has reached that point of understanding.  Too little information, and it is confusing, too much and it becomes condescending. There has to be a balance of what the student discovers and what the teacher tells. You have to let the student discover, and understand that students find answers at different rates and in different ways. You have to be generous with your time to let that discovery happen.