Have you ever wanted a safe space where you can just exist?

Where for a moment in time you can be you with all the intricacies and parts of you that people don't always understand.

Welcome to In The Deep, stories that shape us. I'm your host Zach Stafford and each

episode we create a space to be you, all of you, and all your messy and complicated glory.

Every story shares what it means to be a black and Latinx man living with different

hardships, whether it's the struggle of identity, discrimination, or health, and how they've managed to push forward despite the circumstance.

We hope to get closer, even if it's just a little, to a road of healing and understanding. Hi everyone welcome back.

One of life's biggest mysteries is why exactly music is so powerful for our souls.

You probably have a soundtrack to your life, a jam for those happy days, maybe one for the tough days too.

And you can't forget those special songs that keep you in your driveway until they play all the way through.

But undoubtedly, music has the power to heal.

And in our communities, it is an auditory expression

of our culture's fabric.

It's who we are and what we believe in.

Our guest today is not only a testament to this,

but his story gives us something even bigger, because the music he is

creating is not only helping us see the world in all its complicated glory, but is also creating

a future that heals us all.

Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake is a lot of things.

He's an award-winning conductor.

He is a composer.

He's an arranger.

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