Tidriks Distance Learning Calendar

September 2021

Full course from $25
Registration Deadline: September 7, 2021

Music Lit: A Historical Overview of Hip-Hop

The art form known as Hip-Hop, including the forces pushing it into Gangster Rap, will be discussed through listening examples and firsthand experience. The course will be lead by Golden-Age Hip-Hop producer/composer/cultural ambassador and Hall-of-Famer Kerwin Young (GLFCAM Fellow Cycle 12) known for his work with Public Enemy, Rakim, Ice Cube, and Mobb Deep.  An overview of Hip-Hop’s influence on world culture through its use in film, television, and video games will conclude with its “prized child” status in university and US cultural diplomacy settings. The Happy Hour discussion event of the course will feature special guests Dinco D (the US Hip-Hop Cultural Ambassador to Russia and founding member of Leaders of the New School), Mark Katz (founder of Next Level-USA, educator, and author), and Half Pint (a/k/a Cassandra Jackson, member of the rap group Son of Bezerk).

Four Masterclass Meetings + Happy Hour

Sunday, Sept. 12 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, Sept. 19 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, Sept. 26 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, Oct. 3 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, Oct. 3 (Happy Hour): 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET (with special guests Dinco D, Mark Katz, and Half Pint)

Registration closed.

Saturday & Sunday October 16-17 2021

Full course from $15
Registration Deadline: October 13, 2021

Special Topic: Climate Intelligence & Action for Artists

Climate change ― climate disruption ― is now a bona fide civilizational emergency.  Yet, to understand climate change, it must be seen as part of a suite of interconnected ecological and social crises, arising from the same pathology: us.  Billions of creatures and millions of species may soon vanish; billions of people live in critical deprivation; and systems of food, energy, and economy will soon be going away, collapsing under the weight of a civilizational metabolism that requires nearly two planet’s worth of resources to sustain itself. The next ten years are critical to turn things around.

A different future could be ours: a sustainable, just, and vibrant space upon this island planet defined by a human civilization that thrives within the ecological means of the planet, and without the subjugation of its living creatures. And we have everything technological we need to realize an alternate reality. Yet, scientists, for all of their hard work, have not been able to sufficiently move the needle in terms of general cultural acceptance.  There are stories to be told that would connect to science in a way that impels response, and we are in desperate need of the storytellers.

These storytellers are the artists. Protests songs since the beginning of civilization have galvanized entire political movements.  Novels such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle helped abolish slavery and address worker abuse. Vibrant and fantastical murals capture a community's spirit for racial justice.  Artists who witness the events of their time can not only document them through word, music, and paint, but do so in ways that invite empathy and action.  And artists can employ their hard-won skillsets and overactive imaginations to message a future that is just and green.  

To this end, this course specifically for artists is a weekend-long introduction to a whole-systems framework of planetary boundaries and social foundations. With some reading and viewing of documentaries suggested beforehand, connections will be laid bare by renowned scholar/communicator of climate science (and music lover) Rob Davies so that the climate-aware artist can begin to inform themself and stir their creative psyche for stories to convey through their chosen medium.  As part of the Academy’s Climate Commitment, through the marriage of scientific knowledge and artistic imagination, everyone will be given the tools to begin to see where their own special charisma as artists fits in the urgent race for our existence, no matter their talents, interests, or means.

The Happy Hour will feature special guests Nick Benavides, Samantha Boshnack, Dustin Carlson, Iman Habibi, and Timothy Peterson from Composing Earth Cohort I.

Four classes + Happy Hour (Five meetings)

Saturday, October 16 (Masterclass): 9am-11am PT/12-2pm ET
Saturday, October 16 (Masterclass): 2-4pm PT/5-7pm ET
Sunday, October 17 (Masterclass): 9am-11am PT/12-2pm ET
Sunday, October 17 (Masterclass): 2-4pm PT/5-7pm ET
Sunday, October 17 (Happy Hour): 5pm PT/8pm ET (with guest speakers, Nick Benavides, Samantha Boshnack, Dustin Carlson, Iman Habibi, and Timmy Peterson)

Registration closed.

March–April 2022

Full course from $25
Registration Deadline: March 16, 2022

Music Lit: The Electric Guitar and New Music

An overview of the electric guitar within the world of contemporary classical music, led by composer-electric guitarist Andrew Noseworthy. This course will examine different approaches to composing for the instrument in solo, chamber and symphonic/large ensemble settings; while highlighting different stylistic, technological, notational, practical and collaborative approaches. Participants will gain an understanding of writing for the instrument and working with other electric guitarists through the study of existing representative works for the genre, as well as a brief exploration of Andrew's past collaborations with the instrument. The final Happy Hour session will feature special guests Amy Brandon, Brendon Randall-Myers, and Aeryn Santillan.

Four Masterclass Meetings + Happy Hour

Sunday, March 20 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, March 27 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, April 3 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, April 10 (Masterclass): 1-3pm PT/4-6pm ET
Sunday, April 10 (Happy Hour): 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET (with special guest musicians Amy Brandon, Brendon Randall-Myers, and Aeryn Santillan)

Registration closed.

Saturday & Sunday June 25-26 2022

Full course from $15
Registration Deadline: June 21, 2022

Special Topic: Climate Intelligence & Action for Artists

Climate change ― climate disruption ― is now a bona fide civilizational emergency.  Yet, to understand climate change, it must be seen as part of a suite of interconnected ecological and social crises, arising from the same pathology: us.  Billions of creatures and millions of species may soon vanish; billions of people live in critical deprivation; and systems of food, energy, and economy will soon be going away, collapsing under the weight of a civilizational metabolism that requires nearly two planet’s worth of resources to sustain itself. The next ten years are critical to turn things around.

A different future could be ours: a sustainable, just, and vibrant space upon this island planet defined by a human civilization that thrives within the ecological means of the planet, and without the subjugation of its living creatures. And we have everything technological we need to realize an alternate reality. Yet, scientists, for all of their hard work, have not been able to sufficiently move the needle in terms of general cultural acceptance.  There are stories to be told that would connect to science in a way that impels response, and we are in desperate need of the storytellers.

These storytellers are the artists. Protests songs since the beginning of civilization have galvanized entire political movements.  Novels such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Upton Sinclair's The Jungle helped abolish slavery and address worker abuse. Vibrant and fantastical murals capture a community's spirit for racial justice.  Artists who witness the events of their time can not only document them through word, music, and paint, but do so in ways that invite empathy and action.  And artists can employ their hard-won skillsets and overactive imaginations to message a future that is just and green.  

To this end, this course specifically for artists is a weekend-long introduction to a whole-systems framework of planetary boundaries and social foundations. With some reading and viewing of documentaries suggested beforehand, connections will be laid bare by renowned scholar/communicator of climate science (and music lover) Rob Davies so that the climate-aware artist can begin to inform themself and stir their creative psyche for stories to convey through their chosen medium.  As part of the Academy’s Climate Commitment, through the marriage of scientific knowledge and artistic imagination, everyone will be given the tools to begin to see where their own special charisma as artists fits in the urgent race for our existence, no matter their talents, interests, or means.

The Happy Hour will feature Shane Cook, Adeliia Faizullina, Gilbert Galindo, Aeryn Santillan, Aida Shirazi, Ben Shirley, Nicky Sohn, Rajna Swaminathan, Akshaya Tucker, and Dawn Norfleet from Composing Earth Cohort II as guest speakers.

Four classes + Happy Hour (Five meetings)

Saturday, June 25 (Masterclass): 9am-11am PT/12-2pm ET
Saturday, June 25 (Masterclass): 2-4pm PT/5-7pm ET
Sunday, June 26 (Masterclass): 9am-11am PT/12-2pm ET
Sunday, June 26 (Masterclass): 2-4pm PT/5-7pm ET
Sunday, June 26 (Happy Hour): 5pm PT/8pm ET (with guest speakers from Composing Earth Cohort II)

Registration closed.