Using examples from birdsong, the natural lilt of emphatic language and even a cooking pan lid, singer-songwriter and TED Fellow Meklit Hadero shows how the everyday soundscape, even silence, makes music. "The world is alive with musical expression," she says. "We are already immersed."

Meklit regularly does talks for universities, conferences, companies and organizations. She has spoken at

  • The United Nations, Nexus Global Summit, New York, NY (2013)

  • Harvard University (2019)

  • TED Global Conference, Oxford, UK (2009 + 2012)

  • TED Fellows Retreat, Monterey, CA (2015)

  • Keynote - Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Wavelengths World Music Pre-Conference (2017)

  • Amplifon Conference, Paris, France (2016)

  • New York University (2011)

  • University of California, Merced (2018)

  • University of California, Santa Cruz (2018)

  • Carleton College, Northfield MN (2017)

  • University of Maryland, College Park, MD (2016)

  • Addis Ababa University, Department of Fine Arts, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2016)

  • University of Missouri, Columbia, MO (2016)

  • Purdue University (2016) 

  • Black Portraiture Conference, New York, NY (2011)

Examples of talks include: 

  • The Unexpected Beauty of Everyday Sounds (TED Talk on TED.com)

  • How Music Connects Us: Perspectives From Performance, Personal Story, and Psychology/Neuroscience Research.

  • World Music/American Sound: Immigrant Music and the American Identity

  • Skill-sets for Developing A Creative Career

  • Finding the Money: Financial Frameworks for A Creative Career

  • Cultural Activism and Global Citizenship

  • Meklit: Musician, Composer, Cultural Instigator

  • The History Of Ethio-Jazz  

  • How To Be A Bandleader: A DIY Approach to a Music Career

  • Creative Practice/Creative Approach

  • Women in Songwriting and Composing.