Berklees Chloe Swindler on Playing with Lizzo at the 2022 BET Awards Swindler, a trumpeter and member of Berklee's Diversity and Inclusion team, talks about performing alongside the three-time Grammy winner.
By
Colette Greenstein
July 25, 2022
Lizzos band and dancers at the 2022 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California.
Image courtesy of Chloe Swindler
The power of social media is undeniable. Just ask Chloe Swindler. She recently performed with Lizzo's all-Black, women-led band at the 2022 BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The opportunity came about through a direct message on Instagram from Lizzo's musical director, based on a recommendation from another colleague. Swindler, who plays the trumpet, was one of four horn players to perform alongside the About Damn Time singer.
Chloe Swindler
Earlier this year, Swindler joined Berklee's Diversity and Inclusion team as assistant director of engagement and programming. A native of San Diego, California, she recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UCLA. There, she served as cochair of the Anti-Racism Anti-Discrimination Committee, working alongside faculty, administrators, and students to deliver recommendations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion to the dean of students. As an educator, Swindler has served as a lecturer of music at California State University, Los Angeles, and as trumpet faculty for the Los Angeles Philharmonics Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). In 2020, she created an online conversation series with topics focused on DEI and panels centered on Black experiences in music, theater, and art, and the impact of COVID-19 on music education equity.
We spoke with Swindler about her new role, her dedication to representing Black women instrumentalists, and her recent performances with Lizzo and Harry Styles. The interview has been edited for length.
What instruments do you play? I am a trumpetiste, a term used by the iconic trumpeter Clora Bryant, but I am also a guitarist, arranger, and singer-songwriter. All of my formal training has been classical, which I started in 2005, but I have been playing trumpet in big bands and combos since high school. When I studied at the Royal College of Music in London, I played in the swing band and big band. At Yale, I was both the lead trumpet and vocalist in the jazz band.
For my formal training on trumpet, I just finished my Doctor of Musical Arts degree at UCLA. I also hold a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from Boston University. After taking several ethnomusicology courses, my research from my undergraduate studies onward has always been focused on Black American music studies, with my undergraduate honors thesis at BU and graduate research at Yale focusing on Black women instrumentalists. My doctoral dissertation focuses on three pieces for solo trumpet by Black American composers Regina Harris Baiocchi, Alvin Singleton, and Alice Jones. I also take into account the impact of the protests in 2020 on the reception and/or creation of the compositions and include a guide for teaching the works with inclusive music pedagogy practices, especially ones that take into account the influence of both Western art music and Black American music styles.
In June, I presented at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in San Antonio, Texas. I performed a lecture recital called Five Works for Trumpet by Black Female Composers. As one of three Black women who attended the conference, out of the nearly 850 registered attendees, it remains incredibly important to me to stay visible in the field-not just for myself but for young and upcoming players to see what is possible.
Tell me about your new role and your responsibilities. My role at Berklee has four objectives: (1) coordinating a diversity and inclusion-focused signature programming series, (2) supporting student leadership development, (3) offering and cosponsoring topical programs, and (4) facilitating community connections and affinity spaces.
In short, my job is to create and provide support for primarily student-facing programming that contributes to students' sense of belonging on campus. Earlier this year, I assisted with the programming of the Jabulani and Lavender graduation ceremonies, for students of African descent and members of the LGBTQ+ community, respectively. In the past month, I also moderated two virtual discussions-one for Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander and another for LGBTQ+ Berklee community members.
What was it like performing with Lizzo and her band at the BET Awards? It was a great experience having the opportunity to play with Lizzo and work with her creative team for the 2022 BET Awards. I was truly inspired by the words of encouragement she gave us after the last rehearsal before we entered the venue. Walking into these rehearsals, everyone was at such a high level of artistry and focus that it was a beautiful energy to be around.
What was going through your mind during the performance? I was especially aware of what the performance meant for TV viewers at home and those who would watch the performance online. There was an incredible visual representation on the stage of size inclusivity and Black artistry, along with an all-female band and horn section. While I was playing, I took the time to enjoy the cultural moment in the making and to be as present as possible.
I understand you also performed with Harry Styles. When and where was that? I am very grateful to have been called to play with Harry Styles for Coachella earlier this year. This Coachella was particularly special, as it was the first Coachella since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was beautiful to spend two weeks rehearsing and playing with such an amazing horn section, to share the stage with Harry St
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
Berklees Chloe Swindler on Playing with Lizzo at the 2022 BET Awards Swindler, a trumpeter and member of Berklee's Diversity and Inclusion team, talks about performing alongside the three-time Grammy winner.
