The Disabled Divas Podcast

We are so grateful to have Kendra Preston Leonard join us for our 8th episode. A perfect guest for the Halloween season, as much of Kendra's work is inspired by gothic, dark, other-worldly (and totally awesome) themes. But, seriously, her work is scary good and incredibly impactful. Kendra is a lyricist and librettist whose collaborations with composers tell stories about empowerment, resilience, and compassion. The Teaching Artist in Libretto Writing at Guerilla Opera, Leonard is inspired by history, language, nature, and myth. Leonard is also a music scholar, focusing on women and music in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; and music and screen history. You can follow her at https://kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org/.

We are so excited for this episode of The Disabled Diva's podcast as we welcome Katherine and Anne share insights from their new book, Disability and Accessibility in the Voice Studio. From practical teaching strategies to powerful personal stories, this episode is for educators, singers, and anyone who believes in access to the arts.

Isaac Selya has extensive experience as a musician, entrepreneur, scholar, and educator. He is the Music Director of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and founder and Artistic Director of Queen City Opera, where he has led acclaimed performances that combine high-caliber classical performances with contemporary relevance.This episode focuses on disability in opera from the perspective of an able-bodied collaborator and discusses Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta (a character who is congenitally blind).Because of the content of this episode it was quite fitting that the conversation was between Isaac and Cristina- all the same Please excuse Molly's absence in this episode due to the combination of tech issues and a sick toddler.

Praised for his “darkly sonorous” voice, internationally acclaimed operatic bass, voice actor, and advocate David Salsbery Fry joins us on this epic special edition episode to discuss his experience as an artist with hemophilia and autism. “The pressures of concealing [my disability] were weighing upon me in ways that I could not have understood until I chose to set that burden down.” – David Salsbery FryThis moving episode features a bold, vulnerable, and inspiring conversation with an artist who’s taking up space unapologetically.

Join us for our delightful conversation with this month's guest, Marleena Barber. Marleena is the executive Director of Orange County Arts and Disability. She is an arts and disability consultant for the Orange County Department of Education and is also a cabaret singer.Marleena was once told she would never be successful as a stage performer because of her disability and the way she looks as a woman with albinism. We divas question whether those who made those comments were projecting their lack of success onto this particular queen who absolutely slays!www.marleenabarber.comfacebook.com/marleenabarberYouTube: @marbopperIG: @MarleenaBarber

We had a wonderful time talking with the multi-talented composer, music therapist, and music educator Robert Gross. This episode features two audio snippets of Robert's compositions and explores his work with musicians with disabilities. robertgrosscomposer.com

Meet this week’s guest: Joel Chapman! Joel is a singer, composer, actor, comedian, and advocate for disabled artists. He has a lively social media presence where he shares his art, disability journey, and makes us laugh.@joelchapmanmusicjoelchapmanmusic.com

Join Molly Noori and Cristina Jones as they explore the difference between visible vs invisible disability, define "inspiration porn" and why it is so problematic, & touch on daily life as a singer with a disability. Hot question of the day: "Do you incorporate disability into the characters you play and should you?"