Inclusion:The Destination and the Road Ahead

Ciara Moser

Ciara Moser, originally from Dublin but raised in Austria, currently calls Boston her home base. As a blind bassist of Austrian-Irish descent, she showcases her versatility across various musical styles and genres, seamlessly blending into band, orchestra, film, and ensemble projects, both in live performances and studio sessions.

She earned her Master’s in jazz performance from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA under the guidance of esteemed mentors like John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Victor Wooten. Additionally, she holds a master’s degree in music pedagogy from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

Since collaborating with Danilo Perez in January 2022, Ciara has graced stages with him worldwide, from the Chile Jazz Festival in Santiago, the Paradiso Jazz Festival in Italy, and the Hay Festival in the UK to the Cultural Summit in Abu Dhabi. Alongside other international performances in the UK, Panama, Ecuador, Canada, Austria, and Germany, she has shared the spotlight with renowned artists such as Braxton Cook, and Victor Wooten.

In October 2023, Ciara released her debut album, “Blind. So What?” The jazz/fusion album, exploring themes of music and blindness, received praise and major articles from publications like Premier Guitar Magazine, Bass Musician Magazine and Jazzwise Magazine. Notably, one of its tracks was honored with the “Young Jazz Composers Award 2023” by the ASCAP Foundation.

Following a successful and souled out release tour in Austria through established jazz venues such as Porgy & Bess Vienna and Jazzit Salzburg Ciara’s album gained exposure on national television and radio channels such as ORF3 and Ö1. She headlined the 20-year celebration of the Institute for Popular Music at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, showcasing a big band version of her composition “The Call to See Beyond”.

Ciara’s talent and dedication have earned her various awards such as the “Ascap Young Jazz composers Award” securing a spot in the Jazz Ahead Program (led by Jason Moran) and Woodshed Network Residency (led by Dee Dee Bridgewater), earning the “Matt Marvuglio Student of the Year” award in 2021, becoming a finalist in the Lee Ritenour Six String Theory Competition, receiving the Tara Life Goes On Award, receiving the “Johann Ratzenböck”-scholarship and winning the first price at the well-known austrian classical competition “Prima La Musica”.

Ciara had appearances on multiple TV shows like the austrian talk show series “Barbara Karlich” and “Vera.” Since March 2019, she has hosted her own podcast, “Blind. So What?” shedding light on life as a blind individual.

Currently, Ciara thrives as a performer and recording artist in the Boston/New York scene, alongside her role as a faculty member and staff accompanist at Berklee College of Music.

Cori Couture

In-show Audio Describer Cori Couture (she/her) has provided audio description (AD) for more than 125 productions in the Boston area at about a dozen different theatres. In addition, she has described TV, film, and projects for the Commonwealth of MA, Paramount, NASA, and Disney Parks. She has coordinated AD for many theatres and maintains a comprehensive calendar of local AD productions. Cori proudly identifies as a person with a disability and her one-woman show explored how the arts buoyed her through growing up with spina bifida. She reminds us that people with disabilities have all kinds of fulfilling jobs and lives.

Nicole Aguis Hurel

Nicole Agois Hurel is a musician, educator, arts administrator, and disability advocate whose work centers at the intersection of arts, education and disability. She is the Managing Director of Open Door Arts, an organization that works to increase access, participation, and representation in arts and culture by people with disabilities. She directed Open Door Arts’ education programs for 13 years before assuming the Managing Director role in 2017. Passionate for coalition building around cultural equity and accessibility in the arts, she currently serves on the Steering Committees of Cultural Access New England and the Boston Cultural Leaders Coalition, on the Advisory Board of the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education, and as a Corporator of the Worcester Art Museum. She has also served on the Leadership Council for the city of Boston’s cultural planning process, as Board Chair for Abilities Dance Boston, as National Institute Faculty for VSA International, and as a consultant for organizations like PBS Kids and SchoolTalk. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Nicole holds an Ed.M. in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.M. in Piano Performance from the Boston Conservatory.

@OpenDoorArtsMA

Ellice Patterson

Ellice Patterson is the founder/ executive and artistic director of Abilities Dance, a Boston-based dance company that welcomes artists with and without disabilities. She currently serves on the board of Massachusetts Cultural Council. She was an artist in residence with the City of Boston’s transportation department, using dance as a way to promote more accessibility on the streets and sidewalks of the city 2022 – 2023. She has also served as the executive director of BalletRox 2020 – 2022, a Boston-based dance education nonprofit. She has won the 2020 Ten Outstanding Young Leaders Award from Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the 2024 Bill Allan Award for Grassroots Advocacy from Disability Policy Consortium. Abilities Dance under her leadership has won the 2020 UP Award from Mass Cultural Council for our achievements in accessibility across the Commonwealth and the 2023 Equity Award from Boston Cultural Council  for our commitment to equity in the arts. Outside of self-produced Abilities Dance’s shows, her choreography has appeared in the MFA, Links Hall in Chicago, Gibney Dance in NYC, The Series: Vol IV at the Ailey Citigroup Theatre in NYC, and more. She has given lectures and workshops at schools, universities, and organizations across the country, including Harvard Graduate School of Education, Fidelity Investments, Boston University, and more. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from Wellesley College and her Masters of Science in Management Studies from Boston University Questrom School of Business. Patterson sailed from Massachusetts to Ireland and conducted research in the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans on coastal runoff, sponge species, and spider habitats! She is a passionate researcher and science communicator, dedicated to uplifting Black women in STEM through her ongoing series with the Discovery Museum.