Music & Civil Society: November 18-19, 2011

Click here to view a copy of Music & Civil Society: A Symphony in the Making, a post-conference publication by Arlene Goldbard. Right-click the image to download the publication.

Several musical initiatives around the world have been gaining prominence in recent years for the impact they’re having on historically challenged communities, and for the quality of music-making they’re producing. Music & Civil Society, a two-day symposium co-sponsored by Community MusicWorks and the Cogut Center for the Humanities at Brown University (November 18-19), examined the impact of music on a civil society by bringing together academics and practitioners from several of these initiatives.

Through a series of dialogues and musical presentations, musicians, teachers, students, and academics from Providence, Venezuela, Berlin, the Middle East, and other locations explored a rich set of questions to build further understanding and share best practices.

Featured presenters:

Nabeel Abboud Ashkar, General Director, Barenboim-Said Music Conservatory, Nazareth and Jaffa
Eric Booth, Author, Speaker, International Arts Learning Consultant
Leon Botstein, President, Bard College
Thomas Cabaniss, Teaching Artist, New York
Arlene Goldbard, Writer, Speaker, Social Activist, Consultant
Maxine Greene, William F. Russel Chair Emerita, Teachers College
Toshiko Mori, Architect, Harvard University
Pamela Rosenberg, Director, American Academy in Berlin
Sebastian Ruth, Artistic Director, Community MusicWorks
Carson Siebert, Baremboim Said Foundation, Berlin
Michael Steinberg, Director, Cogut Center for the Humanities
Russell Willis Taylor of National Arts Strategies

The symposium also featured experimental youth performances (Saturday).

Supported by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.


Learn about past Community MusicWorks Conferences

In 2008, Community MusicWorks, together with the Providence Youth Arts Collaborative, hosted the Imagining Art + Social Change conference. Over the last several years, CMW has also brought together new and mid-career musicians interested in social change through the Institutes for Musicianship and Public Service. Click here to read writing by CMW Artistic and Education Directors on Music and Social Change.