Opera | Black | Queer
A Symposium at UCLA
October 1-3, 2026
Symposium Registration
Preliminary Program
Thursday 1 October
Schoenberg Music Building
Green Room, Welcome
17:00 check-in and snacks for presenters
17:30 – 17:45 welcome, logistics [Dean Beckerman, Joy Calico*]
Lani Hall, Session 1
17:45 – 19:15 OPERA, BLACK AND QUEER
“Missing Notes: Salome, Camp, and the Critical Absence of Black Dandyism”
Kyle Kaplan, Syracuse University (USA)
“Hearing Radio Silence: The Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts, Race, and Sexuality”
Erin Brooks, SUNY Potsdam (USA)
“Composing Black Men: Heroism, Age, and Desire”
Naomi André, UNC Chapel Hill (USA)*
Chair: Nina Eidsheim, UCLA (USA)**
Green Room, Reception
19:15 Welcome reception for all participants
Friday 2 October
Schoenberg Music Building
Green Room
10:00 – 10.30 coffee and light breakfast
Lani Hall, Session 2
10:30 – 12:00: BLACK FEMINISMS AND OPERA
“Her Possibilities: Improvisation as Agency in Black Feminist Opera”
Max Jefferson
“Step, Set, Improvise: Choreographic Mutability in Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2019)”
Allison Chu, Vanderbilt University (USA) – ZOOM
“Venus in Four Acts: From Page to Stage”
Tiffany Barber, UCLA (USA)
Chair: Allison R. Smith, ArtsConnect Virginia (USA)*
12:00 – 12:30 break
Lani Hall, Session 3
12:30 – 13:30: BLACK, COLOURED, AND QUEER
“Lived realities in code: ‘Gay American English’ and Gordon Jephtas (1943–1992), South African opera répétiteur”
Hilde Roos, Open Africa Institute, Stellenbosch University (South Africa)*
“Queer Transmedial Presence: Simon Nkoli in John Greyson’s A Moffie Called Simon and Phillip Miller’s Nkoli: The Vogue Opera”
Hannah Fleisch, UCSB (USA)
Chair: Michael Mohammed, SFCM and Opera Parallèle (USA)*
13:30 – 15:00 Lunch for presenters in Green Room
Walk or otherwise get to the
Nimoy Theater
1262 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
16:00 – 18:00 Screening of Nkoli: A Fierce and Fabulous Life at the Nimoy (click link for free ticket RSVP for introduction and screening)
18:15 dinner reception for presenters at nearby restaurant
21:30 Talkback with Yvette Janine Jackson and Tiffany Barber
Sat 3 October
Schoenberg Music Building
Green Room
9:30 – 10:00 coffee and light breakfast
Lani Hall, Session 4
10:00 – 11:00: PERFORMATIVITY
“Voice, Timbre, and Performativity in Postcolonial African Opera”
Bode Omojola, Five Colleges (USA)**
“Isithunzi as Performative Archive”
Lena van der Hoven, University of Bern (Switzerland)*
Chair: Naomi André, UNC Chapel Hill (USA)*
11:00 – 11:15 break
Lani Hall, 10th Annual Robert U. Nelson Lecture
11:15-12:45: Philip Miller and Tshegofatso Moeng
Green Room
12:45-13:45: Lunch Reception
Lani Hall, Session 5
13:45 – 15:15: THE FUTURE OF BLACK OPERA STUDIES
“Dorothy Maynor’s Opera: Harlem School of the Arts (1964–present)”
Monica Hershberger, Lehigh University (USA)
“Whose Opera? Black South African Bodies and the Reimagining of Operatic Space”
Setsoane Jeanette Ntseki, University of Cape Town (South Africa)**
“Critical Editions and the Future of Black Opera Studies”
Kristen Turner, affiliation (USA)*
Chair: Mia Pistorius, Ghent University (Belgium)*
Green Room
15:15-15:45 wrap-up for presenters, debrief, next steps
* = member of the BORN international working team
** = BORN affiliate
Acknowledgements
This event is made possible by the UCLA Chancellor’s Arts Initiative, the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities, the UCLA Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library and the UCLA Music Library’s Hugo and Christine Davise Fund.
Yvette Janine Jackson and the screening of Nkoli are presented in partnership with CAP UCLA at the UCLA Nimoy Theater
This program is made possible by the Joyce S and Robert U. Nelson Fund. Robert Uriel Nelson was a revered musicologist and music professor at UCLA, who, together with his wife, established a generous endowment for the university to make programs like this possible.
Information for Presenters and Participants
Symposium Location
Most symposium events will take place in Lani Hall inside the Schoenberg Music Building. The address of the music building is 445 Charles E Young Drive E, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
The building can be accessed from the west through the main lobby off Portola Plaza, and on the east off of Charles E. Young Drive. If you enter through the east entrance on Charles E Young Drive, take the stairs or elevator to the first floor and follow the signs to Lani Hall.
Lani Hall is on the first floor, in the main lobby.
The Nkoli film screening and concert featuring Yvette Janine Johnson will take place at the Nimoy Theater. https://cap.ucla.edu/ucla-nimoy-theater
Ticketing
Please use the button above to register for the symposium.
We will have a limited number of complimentary tickets for the Nimoy events available for our conference presenters.
For all other attendees, the Nimoy events will be ticketed through The UCLA Central Ticket Office. More information forthcoming.
On-Campus Dining Options
For a sit-down dining experience, make reservations at Plateia (approx. 15 minute walk from conference venue): https://plateiaucla.com/
Music Cafe (coffee, sandwiches, pastries, and light refreshments)
Thursday 8am-4pm
Friday 8am-4pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Jimmy’s Coffeehouse (coffee and light refreshments)
Thursday 7am-7pm
Friday 7am-4pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday
LuValle Commons (pizza, burgers, burritos, rice bowls)
Thursday 7am-6pm
Friday 7am-4pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Kerckhoff Coffee House (coffee, sandwiches, pastries, and light refreshments)
Thursday 7am-6pm
Friday 7am-5pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Ackerman Union (a variety of options including Panda Express, Carl’s Jr., Veggie Grill, Bruin Buzz)
Hours vary. Bruin Buzz, Panda Express, Carl’s Jr. and Veggie Grill are open Saturday and Sunday, see https://www.asucla.ucla.edu/hours
For our conference presenters, we have a block of rooms available at The Inn at UCLA at a discounted rate. Please check your email for the code and the deadline for booking a room.
Parking
The closest parking structure to the Schoenberg Music Building is Lot 2, off Hilgard and Westholme Ave. Enter the structure and drive to the lowest levels for Pay-By-Space parking.
The kiosks accept credit cards, and the rates are $17/day on weekdays and $12/day on weekends. You can also use the ParkMobile App to pay: https://parkmobile.io/
Lot P2 is on the east side of campus, see map: https://ucla.app.box.com/s/n49sussjcbo6e9s1ljs9j9icc053mqaq
For more information about Pay-By-Space parking, including instructions on how to use the ParkMobile App, visit: https://transportation.ucla.edu/campus-parking/visitors
For more information about additional campus parking lots, campus maps, and public transit, please visit: https://transportation.ucla.edu/getting-around-campus/campus-maps
Rideshare
UCLA has designated drop-off areas for rideshares. The closest drop-off location to the Schoenberg Music Building is the Dickson Plaza Flagpole. See image below. 
Venue Information
Restrooms
Men’s and women’s restrooms are located off the first floor interior hallway. Exit Lani Hall and turn right around the corner. Restrooms are on the right.
All-gender restrooms are located off the first floor exterior hallway. Exit Lani Hall and turn left around the corner and go through the glass door. Restrooms are on the left.
Tech for Presenters
The venue is equipped with a projector, speakers for audio, and a podium mic. There is an HDMI connector and a ¼” audio jack. We will have a couple different dongles on hand, but please plan to bring whatever dongles/adaptors your laptop needs. There is an in-house computer if you wish to access your slides from a Cloud account.
For Virtual Presenters
Please plan to join the Zoom room 15 minutes before the start of the panel so we can test your sound and video.
Wifi
Free public wifi is available. Select the UCLA_WEB network.
Livestreaming
All conference proceedings will be livestreamed on the School of Music Website. https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/school-of-music-live-streams/#lani-hall If you do not wish your presentation to be livestreamed, let one of the conference organizers know.