STATE COLLEGE — In a recent virtual lecture part of the “Meeting the Moment with Michael Mwenso,” Dashon Burton, two time Grammy winner and Williamsport High School alumnus, talks about new projects and answers questions regarding the black experience in music and his music history.

As a black artist who was listening and learning in classic European spaces, Burton was encouraged by fellow black students and teachers, who then all helped represent.

“My whole mission is to make sure that people know that we are not just welcomed, but also required to be in these spaces to tell the full story of what it means to be an American musician,” he said. “It is a much fuller experience.”

He added that with more confidence in spaces comes the strength to then push forward and lend a hand to the person coming after you.

In a message to the youth of color, Burton lent a hand and stated “we have the rest of the story, the moments that have not been historically represented, we have the hidden key.”

In the new “multimedia” opera that is set to hit stage in the fall at Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium, Burton plays Robert Moses, a public figure that helped shape urban development in United States cities.

“It doesn’t take much research to understand the enormous complexity of him (Moses),” Burton said.

The overall plot is about the fight over the “fate of New York City” between Moses and Jane Jacobs, telling a story of bringing communities together.

“There is a great deal of situational opposition,” Burton said.

He added that with this “highly technical” opera has been in the works for many years now and that the music, composed by Judd Greenstein is “timeless and has an eternal quality to it.”

“It is going to be a really beautiful and excellent show,” Burton said.

Through COVID has certainly been a heavy-hitter for most musicians, Burton used that to his advantage and made music and lessons more accessible virtually.

“The power of what we are doing here (online)…we need to keep working to get this in more people’s hands and see how this new form of creativity can blossom,” he said.

In addition to this project, he added that he has been doing more teaching and that there are exciting things coming up with the vocal ensemble “Roomful of Teeth.”

“It is a real honor to be working with a lot of wonderful people and to be able to share the music of that work with a wider community,” he said. “I look forward to what the path has in store for me.”