Musicologists have increasingly called for academics to take up the mantle of “public musicology.” But what does it mean to convey the message of our research to a wider audience?

For those of us who need a reminder that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, I spoke with four composers about past crises they faced as artists and human beings: Sarah Kirkland Snider spoke on Hurricane Sandy, John Corigliano on the AIDS crisis, Vijay Iyer on 9/11 and Tania León on the upheaval of migration.