Ariel is the artistic director of the Heartbeat Music Project (HMP), which offers music education for Navajo (Diné) K-12 students living on the Navajo Reservation. We cultivate a safe space for our students to thrive and gain confidence in themselves, their abilities, and their local and global potential.

HMP strives to create an atmosphere of cultural exchange in which we acknowledge the impact of past and present colonialism on indigenous peoples; respectfully engaging with Diné music, cultures and customs. Today, Heartbeat operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Roadwork, Inc — a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1978 with the mission of building multi-racial coalitions through women’s culture.

A central component to Ariel’s mission of access to and equity within classical music are her educational efforts. With nearly a decade of experience working with students of all ages, ranging from beginners to the college level, Ariel has found joy in teaching masterclasses, lessons, beginner music theory/skills, leading improvisation and songwriting workshops, and everything in between.

In the Fall of 2019, Ariel was honored to join the faculty of Mount Holyoke College as an Instructor of Violin and Chamber Music, and in 2020, joined the faculty of MusicAlly, a program which brings community and music to children using a buy-one give-one lesson model. Ariel has taught for the IU Summer String Academy, and given masterclasses, mentorship, workshops, and lectures for the young musicians of Idyllwild Arts Academy, Through the Staff, the Klein Competition, and the pre-college students of Mimi Zweig and Amy Beth Horman. Ariel has been featured as a panelist speaking on the issues of social justice within classical music for String Insiders' Strings Virtual Summit and the Classical Bridge Festival.

In today’s troubled world, many of us are searching for ways to connect and uplift one another. Songwriting provides a creative outlet to express oneself. Contrary to popular belief, one does not need to be a conservatory-trained musician to write songs. Anyone can write a song, and it is a very healing and liberating exercise to do so! With Ariel’s experience in songwriting, they are really excited to make this offering in communities they visit.

This workshop can be held either in-person or via Zoom or another conferencing app. As the workshop is primarily participant-led (with modifications available for special needs or other populations in which participant contributions may be different), it can be held with a variety of populations, including children, adults, seniors, etc. The length of the workshop is also flexible, dependent on the population being served and what is best for them.

No musical background or instruments are required for participation in this workshop (though if participants have instruments/if instruments are accessible to the venue such as tambourines, other small handheld drums, etc. those are most welcome). All that is needed to facilitate this workshop is either a whiteboard/blackboard OR a large piece of poster board to be able to workshop lyrics with the group.