On a crisp, sunny morning last Wednesday, Community MusicWorks students, staff, and instruments filled two yellow school buses and traveled south to Canonicus Camp and Conference Center in Exeter, RI for the annual all-student retreat.

This was my second time joining the retreat, and I admit I was a little bit nervous about taking a large group of children with instruments into the wild! Fortunately none of my worst fears came to pass.  Instead the day was a wonderful mix of learning, play, and group bonding.

One of my favorite parts of the day was watching many of my Daily Orchestra Program students focus for an entire hour learning one melody (an unprecedented length of focus for them!).  I also enjoyed the introductory activity in which small groups had to build a machine using only the members of their group.  I think I did pretty well in my role as the side of a garbage truck.

Other highlights included watching students valiantly rescue each other from jail in a game of Capture the Flag, enjoying the perfect weather outdoors on a scavenger hunt that turned into “find as many interesting objects as you can,” and making my opera debut as a student’s cello in a performance following Chase Spruill’s opera workshop.

Throughout the day I enjoyed seeing so many students smiling, friendships forming, and people working together, whether to build a machine or to make music on their instruments.  It was definitely a successful retreat!

–Lisa Barksdale  (Resident Musician)

We all know the story.  Weary travelers venture into an unfamiliar town.  The residents become curious when these strangers start boiling a cauldron of “Stone Soup.”  One by one the villagers contribute ingredients to create a more and more delicious meal.  The Stone Soup story was the theme of Tuesday’s Community Day, our annual gathering to kick off the new school year for our students and families.

Amid cheerful games and dinner we also watched the Fellows Quartet perform a dramatization of the stone soup story (only in their version the weary travelers created a beautiful performance of a Haydn Quartet rather than a soup), and we examined the question “What ingredients do we need to make CMW great?”  Each student ensemble broke out into discussion groups and came up with their own cauldron of ingredients which they hope to bring to their rehearsals and practice throughout the year.

The evening was a wonderful way to reconnect after the summer, to welcome newcomers to the community, to enjoy music and food together, and to kick off the year with happiness and intention.  We are all excited for the musical “soup” that is to come!

–story and photos by Lisa Barksdale (Resident Musician)

Hello CMW friends, I’m super thrilled to be able to continue to find ways of staying connected to CMW, its amazing people, and the important work being done at 1392 Westminster Street at the intersection of artistry and community relevance.

This year, while continuing in my role directing New England Conservatory’s Sistema Fellowship Resource Center, I also have the exciting opportunity to pilot a couple of courses through NEC’s School of Continuing Education. The new course that I’m most jazzed about is called “Building a Community-based Residency” and it’s informed by my many formative experiences through CMW combined with my last three years up in Boston working with Sistema Fellows and learning about community-based artistic and educational initiatives across the country.

Our old friend and course instructor Heath Marlow with Sistema Fellows in Los Angeles

Building on curriculum developed for NEC’s Sistema Fellows Program (2009-2014), the goal of this new course is to develop a holistic understanding of the nuances of creating a successful and sustainable community-based artistic initiative. Participants begin by designing a project that reflects their personal and unique artistic and/or educational vision, and is based in an existing community of their choosing. Over the year, participants will continuously refine their ideas as they incorporate new information that will expand, deepen, and strengthen their concept. As they learn about specific aspects of nonprofit organizations—both strategic (e.g. mission and vision) and operational (e.g. budgeting and fundraising)—these will become incorporated into participants’ blueprints for an organization to support their initiatives.

This course feels like an opportunity to take all of the one-on-one conversations that I have had (with CMW Fellows, Sistema Fellows, IMPS, and many other artists over the years) and streamline them into an efficient, accessible, and repeatable curriculum. When Minna and I checked in over the summer, it seemed clear that there was a potentially excellent opportunity to offer this course in Providence for the four CMW Fellows. So that’s what is going to be happening on seventeen Friday mornings between mid-September and the end of May.

It’s certain to be an interesting learning adventure, and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to spend time with the Fellows, sharing my experiences and thinking together. There will be two opportunities for anyone who is interested to stop in and see what this course yields: CMW’s annual “Alternative Models” seminar in January, and an end-of-the-year exhibition (think Science Fair) of the Fellows’ work at the end of May. And maybe even some blogging in this very space?

–Heath Marlow

Last Friday Phase II students and CMW staff traveled to Camp Hoffman in South Kingstown, RI for our annual overnight retreat. The weekend included lots of music, s’mores and songs around a campfire, icebreaker games, bonding activities, a nature walk, and group discussions. It was a great opportunity for students and staff to reconnect after the summer break.

On Saturday morning students met in their chamber groups to read music and begin working as an ensemble. Each group will rehearse and perform together throughout the coming year.

In one group activity, students were challenged to imagine how art or music could be a force for positive change three decades from now. Students conceptualized a monument commemorating a notable artist and described how their legacy was worthy of public recognition. Phase II will continue to examine the relationship between the arts and society in their Friday evening discussions over the course of the year.

A highlight of the retreat for me was the raucous game of “Entourage”: a brief but extraordinary version of rock-paper-scissors where the losers of individual matches form a fiercely loyal cheering squad around the winners in a lively play-off that culminates in an unrestrained victory.

It was a great weekend and everyone left feeling excited about what this year has in store!

–Josie Davis  (Violin Fellow ’15-’17)

Watch the Entourage icebreaker game on our Facebook page.

This past week the CMW players went on a retreat at the magnificent Ogontz camp in New Hampshire. Ogontz is a magical place in the mountains of northern New Hampshire that includes breathtaking views, hiking, swimming, canoeing, a friendly staff, rustic-yet-comfortable accommodations, and most importantly, the most delicious homemade meals we could have hoped for.

As a new fellow, I was definitely a little nervous about spending time with my new colleagues in a new place for an entire week. What if they don’t like me? What if I get lost in the woods and eaten by a bear and no one notices I’m gone?!

Thankfully I quickly learned this organization is made up of the most warm-hearted and welcoming people. This retreat offered endless opportunities for bonding, whether through learning about everyone’s playing styles in rehearsal or hearing funny stories at the dinner table.
My favorite memories of the week include chatting around the largest bonfire I’ve ever seen, watching everyone transform into Charades experts during a rowdy game of Fish Bowl, and going into town with the other Fellows quartet and exploring. I am so grateful for this time to get to know everyone and prepare music for our opening concert. While I will miss fresh-baked cookies after every meal, I can’t wait to get back to Providence and hit the ground running!

–Kate Outterbridge, Fellow (’15-’17)

CMW announces new fellows for the 2015-2016 season! Violinists Josie
Davis and Kate Outterbridge  joined the CMW team in late August,
hailing from Oberlin, Ohio and Ann Arbor Michigan respectively.

Read more about Kate and Josie here:

Josie Davis, violin (2015-2017)

A native of Waldoboro, Maine, violinist Josie Davis began her musical studies at the age of six with Janet Ciano and Gilda Joffe. She recently graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Double Degree Program where she was a student of David Bowlin. At Oberlin, she appeared as the concertmaster of the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, as a member of the Contemporary Music Ensemble, and performed in Carnegie Hall with the Oberlin Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in various music festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival, New York University’s String Quartet Seminar, the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and has appeared on NPR’s From the Top. Josie is committed to using music as a way to connect with people of different cultures and backgrounds. She has taught and performed in Panama and India. In addition to music, Josie enjoys sailing, hiking, cooking, making pottery, and exploring the coast of Maine.

Kate Outterbridge, violin (2015-2017)

Violinist Kate Outterbridge recently earned her Masters of Music and Masters of Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Aaron Berofsky. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelors of Music degree at Boston University, where she studied with Bayla Keyes. Kate enjoys learning and performing a variety of musical styles, including early baroque performance practice, exploring sounds and experimentation with newly composed music, keeping up with her Irish fiddling, and most recently learning Indian Carnatic violin. Kate has been a participant in many notable music festivals including Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestra Institute, and Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, where she has had the opportunity to learn from world-class artists. Kate particularly enjoys the communal aspect of violin playing, and aims to focus her energies on developing classical music in urban communities as a means of empowerment. Aside from music, Kate enjoys cooking and baking, especially for friends and family.

Community MusicWorks Summer Camp was in full swing this month, with much music making, classes, field trips and terrific leadership from CMW alum and staff.  One camper said, “My favorite moment was walking back to CMW right before it rained, then coming inside to sing songs while August and Luis played and everyone was singing!”

See the full set of CMW Summer Camp photos here!

Recently the Daily Orchestra Program traveled to Boston for our final performance of the year! Along with twelve other young orchestras, we arrived early in the morning at Roxbury Community College to participate in the Third Annual El Sistema Showcase (featuring programs from the greater Boston area). Our students had been eagerly anticipating this event for months. We had spent many hours not only learning a new version of Ode To Joy and a newly composed piece “What We Will Be,” but also learning how to follow a conductor, learning how to count rests, and preparing to share the stage with fellow string players and winds, brass, and percussion.

Much like the kids I was excited, but I was also nervous about whether we had adequately prepared them to step into a situation in which even adults might sometimes struggle. A short one hour rehearsal followed by a performance with hundreds of other students under the baton of an unfamiliar conductor was an unprecedented experience for all of us! I’m happy to report that my worries were needless. The Daily Orchestra students embraced the entire experience whole-heartedly. They sang loudly when asked, played boldly (with the larger group and in their own performance), and gave their full attention to the task at hand. They even made some new friends and cheered pretty raucously during a cello/violin feud started by the MC.

After the event a beaming grandmother of one of our violinists expressed to me her amazement – “These children have never met before, and yet they can come together and in just a few hours be making beautiful music together!” I share her sentiment. It is amazing and wonderful how music can unify us not only with our own community but also with a much wider community, perhaps wider than we might even be aware until we come together in an orchestra.

–Lisa Barksdale

My name is Joshua Rodriguez, a Community MusicWorks alum and practice mentor at the Daily Orchestra Program. I remember my first day as a mentor at DOP. I was advised that I would be meeting with two violists and a violinist. Lisa and Adrienne did a great job preparing me  and the other mentors for what to expect and how to work with the students. It wasn’t my first time working with some of these students, but I still had feelings of nervousness and anxiety. All I could think of was, “Will these students take a liking to me being around and practicing?”

Those feelings of nervousness and anxiety were put to rest quickly. The students at DOP really are what made the experience so special. I really enjoyed practicing with them. Repeating a measure over for intonation, then maybe dynamics, and then for both was not only helpful but fun. I constantly thought of ways to make the practice fun, whether through games or structured break time. In many practice sessions I would also talk to students about what it means to play an instrument and how through practice we can better our talent. I’ve learned so much about what effective mentorship is like, the importance of relationships, and the bond music helps us create with others.

My experience at Daily Orchestra Program is one that I will never forget. I will recall the spirited energy which Lisa and Adrienne used to guide students through orchestra and their private lessons. I hope to have the same spirit in the future when teaching students how to play a musical instrument. So, did the students take a liking to me? I think the answer to that question is yes, and I certainly hope so. I know that I gained a liking towards them and the love they have for their instruments, music, and improv day. Yes, something I definitely learned is that you can’t forget improv day if you’re talking about DOP. It is their favorite day.