As a studio intent on the primacy of individual expression through music, The Petersen Voice Studio has a responsibility to showcase and develop the diverse perspectives that define art as we know it today. The studio is committed to supporting the arts community through humanistic secular values of honoring the individual through the freedom of expression, freedom of speech, and the sacred right to individualism.
The Petersen Voice Studio does not tolerate any form of racism or hatred. We define racism as the placement of social significance into racial categories for the purposes of negative prejudice or discrimination, especially when generating conditions for the belief in the superiority or inferiority of some races as compared with others.
The studio has a zero tolerance non-discrimination policy with regard to age, sex, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religious beliefs, marital status, familial status, disability, veteran status, political persuasion, medical history, vaccination status, or personally held beliefs.
The studio celebrates the global tradition of musics, from classical to jazz, musical theater to rhythm and blues, without denigrating any. We acknowledge these musics as specific languages and a means of expression unto themselves. The studio rejects objectives to deconstruct or remove musical traditions or canonical literature, but instead aspires to integration and the addition of musics that enrich our human understanding and knowledge. We honor the connective power of music to transform and unite, and reject any and all attempts to divide, segregate, and alienate.
The Petersen Voice Studio was founded on the mission of developing singers to follow their dreams. The studio exists to help all peoples flourish.
The studio commits to:
- Recognize that exceptional works of art often ask us to relate to individuals who may not share our immutable characteristics. We strive to create from a foundation rooted in our common humanity—one that transcends perceived divisions between groups.
- Use our platform to represent all artists equally and advocate for equal representation and opportunity in the arts industry, regardless of identity, political views or affiliation, religious affiliation, gender expression, sexual orientation, or race.
- Acknowledge that patrons of the arts may choose whether or not to consume an artist’s work, but we do not support calls for any artist to be silenced, fired, or de-platformed due to differences in political or ideological affiliation. The creative process requires taking risks—one of which is the risk of offending.
- Provide scholarships and fee waivers to support underrepresented and in-need artists.
- Encourage every artist’s ability to explore ideas that may not align with prevailing narratives. We believe that a wider range of perspectives is an inherent good, and that pressuring artists to conform to certain narratives dampens the power of art to express our diverse and multifaceted humanity.
- Actively address any internal changes we can make as an organization to foster an open and humanistic approach to developing singing artists.
- Honor the individual, rejecting any and all attempts to limit or stereotype along lines of race, sexual orientation, sex, or gender expression.
- Encourage and support creative expression and curation that should not be required to serve an activist, political, or ideological goal.
- Maintain the view of the grandness of the human spirit as expressed through music, and lead singers to a humanistic approach to music making, rejecting treating any individual as an avatar or sole representative of any particular group or immutable characteristic.
- Work to empower artists, arts educators, advocates, media professionals, and others who want to make their voices heard. We welcome all who want to join us in advancing a pro-human culture in arts, entertainment, and media.
- Challenge all preconceived self-concepts as imposed personal or cultural limitations.
- Broaden the singer’s worldview to a greater realization of their own humanity, a wellspring that guides a life of music making intent on connection, education, and love.