Music teachers say state group withheld video backing BLM

A bitter exchange over a state choir video supporting the Black Lives Matter movement came to a head this week when music teachers called out their state association.

Last week, the Connecticut All-State Choral Chairs and Cohort Leaders released an open letter opposing video edits by the Connecticut Music Educators Association that they said would have removed footage of peaceful Black Lives

Matter protesters.

“I think they’ve done a huge disservice to the teachers and students they’re representing,” Melanie Cometa, chorus director at Ledyard High School and the video editor on the project, said of the association board. “And I think they need to resign.”

This week, the association released the uncensored video and a statement on the controversy, roughly five months after the music teachers said the video was completed this summer.

Jason Bouchard, association president from Regional School District 14 in Bethlehem and Woodbury, in a recent email to members, said the video could not be released for legal and parental permission issues, according to its recipients.

But in their open letter, the teachers said no images of students or identifiable attributes were in the video, and there had been no talk of release forms previously.

By Tuesday, the Connecticut Music Educators Association had released the video, along with a statement on the controversy.

“We are taking the position that Black lives matter, and that we, as an organization, are 100% committed to making sure people of all backgrounds — race, religion, sexual orientation ... know that CMEA values and respects equally every human being who wants to make this world a better place,” wrote Bouchard.

“We acknowledge the harm that was caused through the perception of CMEA’s actions,” it read. “We extend our deepest apologies and want to assure you that we are committed to doing better.”

In April, more than 200 students attended virtual expert-led sessions, engaged in dialogue about social justice, and recorded two pieces from the Justice Choir Songbook: Melanie DeMore’s “Lead With Love” and Deanna Witkowski’s “We Walk in Love.”

Cometa said she was tasked with creating a video for the students’ virtual performance. She said she drafted a video inspired by song lyrics and student suggestions — many of which named the Black Lives Matter movement in particular, according to survey results obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media.

Cometa said Bouchard requested footage of a protester holding a “Justice for Breonna Taylor” sign be removed because it referenced ongoing investigations.

She complied, but said Bouchard again asked her to remove images of signs that said “Let Black People Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter,” which she declined to do.

Bouchard could not be reached for comment.