Running to the Noise, Episode 19

[00:00:00] Carmen: I'm Carmen Twillie Ambar, president of Oberlin College of Conservatory. Welcome to Running to the Noise where I speak with all sorts of folks who are tackling our toughest problems and working to spark positive change around the world. Because here at Oberlin, we don't shy away from the challenging situations that threaten to divide us. We run towards them.

[00:01:00] Carmen: What does it take to help someone find their voice? Not just train it technically, but truly find it—to help it see its shape, its character, its charisma. For LaTanya Hall, Associate Professor of Jazz Voice at Oberlin Conservatory, mentorship isn't just part of the job. It is the job. It means showing up for students in practice rooms—and in life. It means guiding them through failure and doubt and helping them grow as musicians and as people.

[00:02:00] Carmen: One of LaTanya's most successful mentees in recent years is Georgia Heers, a graduate of the Class of 2021. Just four years ago, Georgia was a jazz studies major in LaTanya's studio. Now she recently made her Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck, a new play starring George Clooney. The production has already broken records, netting nearly $3.8 million in one week—making it the highest grossing non-musical play in Broadway history.

[00:03:00] Carmen: Set in the early 1950s, the play tells the story of journalist Edward R. Murrow and his televised takedown of Senator Joseph McCarthy at the height of the Red Scare. It's a story about free speech, the power of the press, and the moral courage it takes to confront disinformation—then and now.

[00:03:30] Carmen: Georgia plays Ella, a jazz singer performing live in a neighboring studio as the news unfolds. Her renditions of songs like “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” “How High the Moon,” and “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” were singled out in The New York Times for offering pleasure and respite while slyly commenting on the action.

[00:04:00] Carmen: But behind the spotlight is something quieter. A student who still reaches out to her Oberlin teacher before a big audition. The mentor taking that late-night call. A relationship built on trust, care, and shared purpose.

[00:04:30] Carmen: Today on Running to the Noise, we’re pulling back the curtain with LaTanya Hall and Georgia Heers to talk about what mentorship really looks like—the kind that lasts beyond graduation and spans across stages, cities, and years.

[00:05:00] Carmen: Georgia, we’re so proud of you and everything happening in your career. You’re the hottest ticket in town right now. And let me tell you, students on campus have been saying to me, “Yeah, your podcast is fine, President Ambar, but could you get some young people on there?” You are my first Oberlin alum who specifically qualifies as young.

[00:05:20] Georgia: Woo! That’s right. I’ll take it.

[00:05:23] Carmen: And you’re an alum from during my time at Oberlin. I’ve heard you sing in multiple settings. You were in the Sonny Rollins Ensemble, weren’t you?

[00:05:31] Georgia: Yes, I have a distinct memory of you coming to one of our performances and giving a beautiful speech. I was like, “That’s my president. I love my president!”

[00:05:40] Carmen: And I also—though I don’t have a visual memory of it—I understand you sang at my inauguration. You were part of the gospel choir?

[00:05:47] Georgia: Yes! LaTanya can speak on that better than I can.

[00:05:50] LaTanya: We put together twenty students from the Conservatory and the Jazz Department to sing for your inauguration. Georgia was in that group—the first group out. That performance, where we got a standing ovation, really kickstarted the whole push to bring gospel back to Oberlin.

[00:06:10] Carmen: Right. I asked for a gospel choir, and at the time the institution was trying to reconfigure it. It had a long tradition here at Oberlin, but it hadn’t been active for several years. LaTanya was working to pull it back together, and everybody thought this would be a great opportunity to showcase that effort.

[00:06:30] Carmen: And you’re absolutely right—you all got a standing ovation. One of the things people kept saying to me after that inauguration was, “Wow, that ceremony felt so different.” Because typically, those events are pretty staid, stiff affairs. But I have to say, our gospel choir showed up and showed out—as gospel choirs are wont to do.

[00:06:52] Carmen: So I’m just happy I can reconnect with you, Georgia, from that early moment to where you are now. I’m so excited to have you on the podcast—and to have Professor Hall here as well.

[00:07:10] Carmen: Let’s talk a little bit about your beginnings. How did you come to meet, and how did you come to Oberlin? Georgia, we’ll start with you.

[00:07:19] Georgia: Sure. My whole family listens to a wide range of music, but my mom was really the push behind jazz. I grew up singing musical theater and opera—I was set on studying opera at Oberlin.

[00:07:32] Georgia: But my mom said, “There’s also a jazz program. It’s pretty new. And there’s this beautiful Black teacher.” She printed out an article about you, LaTanya, talking about your early years at Oberlin, and she said, “Look at this. Isn’t this interesting?”

[00:07:48] Georgia: I had no idea about jazz, and I was hesitant. I’m a proud person, so it was hard to do something I didn’t know anything about. It meant humbling myself to learn. But that ended up being the most rewarding experience.

[00:08:04] Georgia: So I went to Oberlin, found you, LaTanya—and honestly, that changed my life. It changed the whole trajectory of the music I make and love. It was definitely my mom who made that connection.

[00:08:16] LaTanya: Well, tell your mama thank you.

[00:08:19] LaTanya: I was telling President Ambar just yesterday, Georgia was the kind of student that only comes along rarely in a teacher’s life. From the first time I heard her—even though she had very little exposure to jazz—the talent was overwhelming.

[00:08:33] LaTanya: She came in and she did the work. And she’s turned into an incredible artist and musician. I’m so proud of everything she’s doing.

[00:08:44] Carmen: Maybe you can tell us a little bit about the jazz program here at Oberlin, and why it’s so distinctive—and what led you to pick out Georgia’s voice and say, “This person needs to be in my studio.”

[00:08:56] LaTanya: We started the jazz voice program in 2015, and I was hired to build it from the ground up. We started with four students. We’ve steadily grown, and I’m very proud to say my students are out there working, making music, and changing the course of the genre with what they’re bringing to it.

[00:09:14] LaTanya: What’s unique about Oberlin is that we’re fully committed to teaching jazz at a high level. Our faculty is deeply versed in the genre. We have two NEA Jazz Masters—Gary Bartz and Billy Hart. We also have Eddie Henderson and Gerald Cannon—these are legends. Students get to study at their feet.

[00:09:35] LaTanya: What I look for in students is not that they’re fully formed jazz artists when they arrive, but that they come in as musicians with a desire to learn. I look for the seeds of great artistry.

[00:09:46] LaTanya: Georgia had that from the start: great musicality, great pitch, an amazing ear. She’d never improvised before, but she had all the right instincts.

[00:10:00] Carmen: That’s such an important part of jazz—improvisation.

[00:10:03] LaTanya: It’s the root of it. Jazz and blues are the mothers of everything else—rock and roll, R&B, neo-soul, even gospel. All of them are rooted in improvisation and the ability to take a song and make it your own.

[00:10:19] LaTanya: Georgia already had some of those skills innately. My job was to hone them.

[00:10:27] Carmen: Maybe you can help the audience understand how the studio process works—what it means to come in and do the work. Could you walk us through what a session is like, and how this mentorship relationship develops over time?

[00:10:41] Georgia: Yeah. I remember some of our first lessons—surprisingly—they were spent just talking on a personal level. Who we were, where we came from. I was curious about LaTanya’s story, her journey, and her career.

[00:10:55] Georgia: One of the most inspiring things about you, LaTanya, is that you’re not only an educator—you’re a working, touring musician. That does so much for a student. When you're taught by someone who’s actually doing the thing, you start to imagine yourself in that future.

[00:11:12] Georgia: A lot of our early lessons were spent just hanging out, getting to know each other, building trust. Because I think in education, that personal element is often missing. Without that trust, it’s hard to grow.

[00:11:28] Georgia: And if you’re someone like me—afraid of making mistakes or looking dumb—that can be a huge roadblock. But once we built that foundation, we dove into the work.

[00:11:40] Georgia: I’ve always struggled with work ethic, to be honest.

[00:11:44] Carmen: I bet that’s changed, Georgia. If you’re doing eight shows a week, I think that work ethic found its fire.

[00:11:50] Georgia: That woke me up. It was like a cold plunge! Getting up, being on time, being present. And it was right after two years of being out of school during the pandemic.

[00:12:01] LaTanya: Welcome to the real world, honey.

[00:12:03] Georgia: Truly! And in the studio with LaTanya, we did a lot of hard work. I didn’t have much formal experience with improvisation, so we started from the very beginning.

[00:12:15] Georgia: She gave me tools—a worksheet, a tune, a set of scales to learn—and then I had to go do it. If I didn’t? Well, the next lesson wasn’t gonna be very fun.

[00:12:27] Carmen: So how often are students coming into the studio?

[00:12:30] LaTanya: We meet one hour a week for private lessons. But I also created a full curriculum for jazz vocalists. We do a course in circle singing, which is free improvisation—just opening up musically without any framework.

[00:12:46] LaTanya: I also teach a performance class, where we work on how to get inside a lyric, and how to communicate effectively with instrumentalists. That becomes their bread and butter in the real world.

[00:12:59] LaTanya: In the first year, we spend a lot of time on technique—how to keep the voice healthy, how to breathe and place the sound correctly.

[00:13:07] LaTanya: And Georgia, you said something important. The conservatory model allows for an incredible depth of relationship. We study together for four years. That means I know her voice—intimately.

[00:13:19] LaTanya: I know how it works, how it reacts, where it wants to go. We can really fine-tune things over time. And it’s a gift—to work that closely with someone.

[00:13:30] LaTanya: That relationship becomes one of the most intimate a student will have with a professor across campus. I try to make my office a safe landing place. A space where they can make mistakes, fall down, cry if they need to—and still grow.

[00:13:42] Carmen: That reminds me so much of what the best mentorship relationships look like. You have this trust where there can be critique—but that critique is grounded in love, care, and support. So it comes from the right place.

[00:13:55] Carmen: And when you have the opportunity, as you said, Georgia, to fail—and to fail in a safe space where you know you’ll be caught—that changes everything. I’m wondering, Georgia, how did Professor Hall’s mentorship guide your evolution as a performer? Both in terms of your voice and in your personal development over those four years?

[00:14:13] Georgia: I love that you asked personally as well, because I feel like I changed so much from the person I was when I first started.

[00:14:21] Georgia: I still remember our first lesson, LaTanya—we did an aria, because I had told you I was a classical singer and wanted to work on technique. I actually think I have that lesson recorded, and sometimes I go back and listen to it.

[00:14:34] Georgia: If I feel like I need to reset—remind myself how far I’ve come—I’ll go back to that recording.

[00:14:40] Carmen: That’s powerful.

[00:14:41] Georgia: I just remember being so uncertain back then. And I think that’s pretty common at that age. But I was especially uncertain about myself and my abilities.

[00:14:52] Georgia: Over those four years with LaTanya, I really learned to believe in myself—and to back that belief up with actual work.

[00:15:03] Carmen: I hope all the students heard that. It’s a call-in moment. I’d be snapping right now like you all do when I’m in meetings with you, but I’ll hold back.

[00:15:13] Carmen: That’s so good. Confidence backed by work. Learning to believe in yourself, and backing that belief with the effort you put in.

[00:15:22] Georgia: Yeah, because I’ve learned now—in the professional world—that kind of integrity makes people respect you more. And you learn to respect yourself more too.

[00:15:32] Georgia: That’s probably the biggest takeaway for me. Of course, my instrument has changed—it’s matured and evolved through LaTanya’s leadership. But my musical palette has also expanded so much.

[00:15:46] Georgia: You showed me so much music, LaTanya. So many incredible artists who I now look up to—albums I still go back to and probably will for the rest of my life.

[00:15:56] Georgia: I remember you showed me Swingin’ Easy by Sarah Vaughan. That album changed everything for me. If I hadn’t been exposed to that, I wouldn’t be singing the way I do now. I wouldn’t have the goals I have.

[00:16:08] LaTanya: Thank you for saying all of that. It’s always gratifying to hear as a teacher.

[00:16:13] LaTanya: You raise the baby bird, and then you watch her fly from the nest and do her thing. You hope the lessons you instilled along the way show up out there in the world.

[00:16:24] Carmen: And speaking of the world—Georgia, you are in the hottest play on Broadway right now.

[00:16:29] Carmen: You’re out here surpassing Denzel and Jake Gyllenhaal. That pretty much confirms you’re on the right track.

[00:16:37] Carmen: Some folks might already know about Good Night, and Good Luck—starring George Clooney. And if you haven’t read the reviews of Georgia’s performance, then you’re missing out. The way they’ve described you—that’s reserved for only the brightest stars.

[00:16:52] Carmen: So tell us about that experience. How did you land the role?

[00:16:56] Georgia: I’m learning that so much of success in this industry—and in life—is due to the generosity of others. I’ve been lucky to have amazing, inspiring people who have taken chances on me.

[00:17:08] Georgia: I was introduced to this world through Brian Carter—an incredible drummer, composer, conductor, and singer. He’s one of those people where you’re like, “Do you even sleep?”

[00:17:18] Carmen: That’s right. How are you stuffing all of that into twenty-four hours?

[00:17:21] Georgia: Exactly! I’m just trying to wake up, and he’s composing symphonies. He actually did the music for Some Like It Hot—if folks are familiar with that Broadway show.

[00:17:33] Georgia: I was in a production of his called Rustin and Renaissance, an oratorio about the life and work of Bayard Rustin—this huge, unsung hero who organized the March on Washington and was a key figure in the nonviolent movement.

[00:17:48] Georgia: The writers of Good Night, and Good Luck—George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and the director David Cromer—all saw that production and heard me sing. That opened the door to this role.

[00:18:01] Georgia: And it’s wild—because when I had to decide whether to take the Good Night, and Good Luck role, it meant stepping away from jazz gigs for a while. It was only a few months, but still, it felt like a big decision.

[00:18:14] Carmen: Right. You had to dedicate yourself to a theater run, which can take you out of a certain market for a while. That’s a real commitment.

[00:18:21] Georgia: Exactly. And as someone new to the industry, I was thinking, “Is this the right time to pull back from jazz? Is this okay?”

[00:18:29] Georgia: But I thought about my mentors—I thought about you, LaTanya—and I also talked to a friend of mine. Actually, you all talked about this with Rhiannon Giddens on the podcast, which I loved.

[00:18:42] Georgia: This idea that genre classifications—these boxes we put ourselves in—are often profit-driven. They don’t reflect the truth of the art itself.

[00:18:51] Carmen: That’s right. When Rhiannon Giddens was on campus, we had a long conversation about that. And it came up in the episode too—how artists don’t fit into neat categories.

[00:19:01] Georgia: Yes. That episode really stuck with me.

[00:19:04] Georgia: When I was deciding whether or not to do this production, I thought about you, LaTanya. I thought about how your own path has been open and winding. You were on Broadway and then found your way into jazz.

[00:19:17] Georgia: And I realized the path of an artist is never a straight line. There’s no one “right” route. We’re all just trying to grow.

[00:19:25] Georgia: I took inspiration from your openness to the journey, and that helped me say yes. Because really—it’s not about saying, “I’m this kind of singer” or “that kind of singer.” It’s about becoming a better artist.

[00:19:38] LaTanya: I always tell my young singers: do everything. Even if a gig doesn’t feel like it’s jazz-specific, it’s still part of the journey.

[00:19:46] LaTanya: This show is doing amazing things for you—it’s introducing you to new audiences and letting people hear your voice. That’s huge.

[00:19:54] LaTanya: Music is music. If it touches someone, you’ve done your job.

[00:19:58] LaTanya: I was saying this to President Ambar yesterday—our job, first and foremost, as singers, is to be storytellers.

[00:20:05] LaTanya: And a lot of the reviews I’ve read about your performance, Georgia—they say, “She doesn’t have any lines, but she’s a vital part of the storytelling through song.”

[00:20:14] LaTanya: I sat in my house, applauding to myself. I thought, “Yes! She’s doing exactly what we talked about. She’s making people feel every word.”

[00:20:22] LaTanya: And I’m glad you’re out there trying new things, because sometimes the path will change. You may think you’re going to be one thing, and then the universe opens a different door.

[00:20:32] LaTanya: I still think you’ll have a wonderful jazz career—but now you’ve got Broadway experience in your back pocket, working alongside one of the greatest artists in the world.

[00:20:42] LaTanya: George Clooney! You couldn’t ask for a better Broadway debut.

[00:20:46] Georgia: Oh my gosh. Working with George Clooney has been incredible. He’s honestly one of the most humble people I’ve ever met.

[00:20:53] Georgia: From day one, he knew my name. He walked up and said, “Hey Georgia, how you doing?” and gave me a hug. I was like, “Wait, am I allowed to touch you? Where’s the security?”

[00:21:03] Georgia: He’s so warm, so gracious. He really sets the tone for the whole cast. It feels like a family.

[00:21:10] Carmen: That’s great to hear. It’s really something when someone that far along in their career lives up to who you hoped they’d be. When they deliver—not just on talent, but on character.

[00:21:20] Carmen: Georgia, I’m wondering whether the character you play—Ella—was inspired directly by Ella Fitzgerald?

[00:21:27] Georgia: I thought so too at first. But Ella is actually more of an amalgamation—she’s inspired by the jazz divas of the 1950s. Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald of course.

[00:21:39] Georgia: And I had the chance to infuse my own inspirations into her too. For each song, the music director, Brian Carter, would say something like, “Channel Ella for this one,” or “Think Sarah for this one.”

[00:21:50] Georgia: So with each tune, I had a different framework. I tried to embody a different great, but Ella—the character—is meant to be her own voice, standing in for a whole tradition.

[00:22:01] Carmen: That’s great. So every song has its own spirit behind it. That’ll be great fodder for folks who listen to this podcast and then go see the show.

[00:22:10] Carmen: They can try to guess which jazz great inspired each performance. That’s going to be my plan when I see the show. I’ll be sitting there with my mental scorecard.

[00:22:19] Carmen: I wanted to ask a couple more questions about the show before we talk about what’s next for both of you.

[00:22:26] Carmen: What’s it like to be the first voice the audience hears? You set the tone—what goes through your mind in that moment?

[00:22:34] Georgia: I didn’t realize how much responsibility I had until I read the script and saw that I was opening the play. I was like, “Oh wow—I have to warm up the stage... for George Clooney?”

[00:22:45] Georgia: And I started to understand how important my presence was in shaping the energy of the entire performance.

[00:22:52] Georgia: The play is tense. The story is tight. And the band—our characters—we provide this kind of emotional breathing room. It’s almost like scoring a film, live.

[00:23:03] Georgia: So I had to be fully centered and present. I’m ushering the audience into this world.

[00:23:10] Georgia: And then, as rehearsals went on, the rest of the cast would tell me, “Hey, we’re watching you from the wings.” And I was like, “Okay. No pressure.”

[00:23:19] Georgia: And then George came up to me and said the same thing! “I’ve been watching you through the window.” I’m like, “Cool. Great. Everyone’s watching. Don’t mess it up.”

[00:23:29] Carmen: Well, from the reviews, it’s clear you’re not messing anything up. You’re doing exactly what they need—and more.

[00:23:36] Carmen: They’ve talked about how your performance helps shape the story, gives the audience space to process what they’re watching. It’s not just a relief from the tension—it’s a deeper kind of storytelling.

[00:23:48] Carmen: Georgia, this show is landing in a very particular moment for our country. Can you talk a bit about what it means to tell this story right now?

[00:23:57] Georgia: I’m so grateful that this is my introduction to Broadway. It feels like a meaningful story—one with real substance.

[00:24:05] Georgia: A lot of things are purely for entertainment, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when something can entertain and still deliver a powerful, relevant message? That feels rare.

[00:24:16] Georgia: This story—about Edward R. Murrow, about confronting fascism and disinformation—it’s eerily parallel to what we’re seeing today. It hits close to home.

[00:24:27] Georgia: The message is: it’s not about what the powerful will do—we already know. It’s about what you will do with the truth in front of you.

[00:24:35] Carmen: You know, it’s interesting that your play is the hottest ticket on Broadway right now. I think sometimes people flock to the art they need.

[00:24:43] Carmen: Sure, they’re showing up because George Clooney is in it, and Georgia Heers is in it—but I also think it’s deeper than that. Sometimes, we crave a story that helps us make sense of the moment we’re living in.

[00:24:56] Carmen: I imagine that’s part of what audiences are experiencing. They need to see that historical moment reflected through art. They need that reminder that this time, too, will pass.

[00:25:08] Georgia: Wow. That was beautifully said. Absolutely. You can feel it in the audience’s response—there are audible reactions during the show. People are taking it in, emotionally.

[00:25:18] Carmen: I haven’t seen the play yet, but I saw the film Good Night, and Good Luck when it came out years ago. I still remember Murrow’s words. If you’ve studied history—especially McCarthyism—you can’t help but notice the shadows we’re seeing now.

[00:25:32] Carmen: I don’t doubt that you all will be sold out, night after night.

[00:25:35] Carmen: I want to come back to something you mentioned earlier—about still reaching out to La Tanya after graduation. What has that mentorship meant for you in the years since Oberlin?

[00:25:45] Georgia: Since I graduated in 2021, we’ve met up every year—just to talk about life and careers. And that’s been really grounding for me.

[00:25:54] Georgia: There have been times when I struggled—as many freelance artists do. Especially in the economy we’re living in, and coming out of the last four years, it’s been hard.

[00:26:04] Georgia: Sometimes I’ve asked myself, “Why am I doing this? Is art really the most productive thing I could be doing right now?”

[00:26:11] Georgia: But every time I talk to La Tanya, she brings me back to my purpose. She helps me remember that I’ve been given something—a gift—and my task is to hone it.

[00:26:22] Georgia: Each conversation reminds me: this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Even when it feels uncertain.

[00:26:29] Georgia: And the lessons she taught me early on still apply: do the work, and the work will come.

[00:26:35] La Tanya: Yes. That’s exactly it. You don’t wait for the job to come before doing the work. You do the work first—so that when the job comes, you’re ready.

[00:26:45] Carmen: That’s why I asked. Because this pursuit—being an artist—it’s not always easy. It’s full of challenges. And those conversations you have with your mentor along the way? They’re everything.

[00:26:57] Carmen: Georgia, do you remember any of those tough-love conversations with La Tanya that helped shape your direction?

[00:27:03] Georgia: Oh yes. One in particular. It was 2021, I was about to graduate. It was application season, and I really didn’t want to go to grad school.

[00:27:13] Georgia: We were still deep in COVID, and I was tired. Burnt out. I told La Tanya I just wanted to go home for a year, save money, figure things out. I had no real plan.

[00:27:24] Georgia: And I expected her to say, “Okay, take care of yourself.” But instead, she said, “Oh no, ma’am. Go home and do what exactly?”

[00:27:34] Georgia: She could see right through me. She knew I was trying to hide—trying to stop the progress I’d made.

[00:27:41] Georgia: And she said, “You’re going to stay home and never leave.”

[00:27:45] Georgia: She helped me put together one last-minute application. Just one. And that application was to Juilliard. I didn’t think I had a chance.

[00:27:54] Georgia: I moaned the whole time. I cried. But spring rolled around—and I got in.

[00:28:00] Georgia: And I have her to thank for that. Completely.

[00:28:03] Georgia: Her husband, Andy Milne—who’s an amazing pianist—he even called me to say, “What’s this I hear about you not applying?” It was a full court press.

[00:28:11] Georgia: And that moment changed my life. I wouldn’t have moved to New York. I wouldn’t have met the people I’ve worked with. I wouldn’t be in this production right now.

[00:28:20] La Tanya: I remember telling my husband, “You’ve got to hear this girl sing.” I used to play him clips of Georgia all the time.

[00:28:28] La Tanya: Then he came to her junior recital and hired her to do some recording work—which actually ended up being part of the Grammy-nominated Black Lives Matter record we released a few years ago.

[00:28:39] La Tanya: We always laugh—he calls her “Mini Me.” He says she reminds him so much of me when I was in that stage of my career.

[00:28:48] La Tanya: We’ve kind of adopted her as the daughter we never had.

[00:28:51] Carmen: So the whole mentorship family got involved. That’s beautiful. The whole squad was saying, “You’re not going home. You’re going to New York.”

[00:29:00] Carmen: La Tanya, I’m curious—when you first heard that Georgia was going to be on Broadway in Good Night, and Good Luck, what was your reaction?

[00:29:07] La Tanya: I squealed like a little girl.

[00:29:09] La Tanya: I literally sat there and went, “WHAT?! Oh my God!”

[00:29:13] La Tanya: First thing I did was call my husband. I was like, “Mini Me is on Broadway.”

[00:29:17] La Tanya: We were so proud. And then I texted Georgia just to say how proud I was, how thrilled. Because for a teacher, it’s always deeply gratifying to see your students out there doing the thing.

[00:29:29] Carmen: I can imagine.

[00:29:31] La Tanya: And I always knew Georgia was going to do something special. This is just the beginning.

[00:29:36] Carmen: That’s a perfect segue into what’s next. Georgia, can you tell us about your upcoming album?

[00:29:42] Georgia: Sure! I was awarded a Chamber Music America grant to create an album under the mentorship of any artist I chose.

[00:29:50] Georgia: I chose Cecile McLorin Salvant—this amazing singer La Tanya actually introduced me to. I’ve admired her for years, and now we’ve been able to develop a relationship.

[00:30:01] Georgia: She’s been guiding me through this process. It’s my first album, and I’m really excited. We’re in the workshop phase right now, but we plan to record in August and hopefully release it later this year.

[00:30:12] Carmen: That’s a major milestone. We’ll be looking forward to it and promoting it, too. You’re building something really beautiful.

[00:30:20] Carmen: And La Tanya, you’ve got an album coming out as well?

[00:30:23] La Tanya: Yes! It’s called Pretty Eyes, and it’ll be released August 22nd.

[00:30:27] La Tanya: I recorded it with some of our amazing faculty here at Oberlin. Gary Bartz, Eddie Henderson, Gerald Cannon, and Cyrus Chestnut on piano—just legends.

[00:30:38] La Tanya: It’s a reimagining of some lesser-known jazz tunes—there’s even a jazz interpretation of an Aretha Franklin song on there.

[00:30:45] La Tanya: I think this is the first album that truly encapsulates who I am as an artist. And something I always tell my students: you never stop growing.

[00:30:54] La Tanya: Even after all these years, I’m still learning, still exploring. I always want my next project to be deeper, stronger, more honest than the last.

[00:31:03] Carmen: I love that. It’s a beautiful model for our students—to see a teacher still evolving, still stretching artistically.

[00:31:10] Carmen: So now I want to close with the same question I ask every guest on this podcast. As you both know, the title Running to the Noise was inspired by something Michelle Obama once said—that Obies are the kind of people who run toward the noise.

[00:31:23] Carmen: So I’d love to hear from each of you: what does “Running to the Noise” mean to you? How does that show up in your work, your career, or your life? Professor Hall, let’s start with you.

[00:31:35] La Tanya: I think Running to the Noise means being willing to take risks. Being willing to step into the fray, even when things feel scary or uncertain.

[00:31:43] La Tanya: That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about Oberlin. Our students are bold. They speak up for the things that matter. They push.

[00:31:50] La Tanya: And they’ve taught me, too. I’m naturally introverted—even though I chose a career in the arts. But my students have helped me find the courage to speak out and stand firm.

[00:31:59] La Tanya: There’s a saying: “Fortune favors the bold.” And to me, Running to the Noise is about stepping forward—even when it’s uncomfortable—to do what’s right, to be heard, and to make something meaningful.

[00:32:13] Carmen: Beautifully said. Georgia, you get the last word. What does Running to the Noise mean to you?

[00:32:18] Georgia: Dang, La Tanya. Hard to follow that!

[00:32:20] Georgia: Honestly, what you said reminded me of a quote from the play—from Good Night, and Good Luck. Murrow says, “The question isn’t what the powerful will do with the power they’ve taken—we already know. The question is, what will you do with your ability to influence?”

[00:32:36] Georgia: And President Ambar, you always say it too—Obies are people who can literally change the world.

[00:32:42] Georgia: For me, Running to the Noise means understanding that you have that ability. Even if it’s not changing the world on a global scale, you can change someone’s life. You can change your own life.

[00:32:52] Georgia: It’s about the daily things. The small acts of showing up, organizing your life in a way that reflects your values. Being willing to do the hard thing, in service of something bigger.

[00:33:03] Carmen: I love that. You both represent the very best of what Oberlin stands for. This mentorship, this bond between you—it’s inspiring.

[00:33:11] Carmen: And I’m just so happy that Oberlin was part of this journey. I tell every student who gets admitted to this college that the universe has me here to tell them: there’s something special they’re meant to do in the world—and Oberlin is part of it.

[00:33:27] Carmen: Thank you both for joining Running to the Noise. It was a joy to have you.

[00:33:32] Georgia: Thank you so much, President Ambar.

[00:33:34] La Tanya: Thank you. Such a pleasure.

[00:33:36] Carmen: This was truly an honor.

[00:33:41] Carmen: Thanks for listening to Running to the Noise, a podcast produced by Oberlin College and Conservatory. Our music is composed by Professor of Jazz Guitar Bobby Ferrazza, and performed by the Oberlin Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble—a student group created with the support of the legendary jazz musician.

[00:33:56] Carmen: If you enjoyed the show, be sure to hit that subscribe button, leave us a review, and share this episode online so Obies and other listeners can find it too. I’m Carmen Twillie Ambar, and I’ll be back soon with more great conversations from thought leaders on and off our campus.