Perhaps you were with us in November at our Providence symposium, or perhaps you read about it. I have the privilege this week [January 4-10] of continuing that dialogue in the Israeli town of Nazareth, with some of our friends from November, including Michael Steinberg from Brown University, Pamela Rosenberg from the American Academy in Berlin, and especially Nabeel Abboud Ashkar who is hosting us in Nazareth. Nabeel is the director of the Baremboim-Said Conservatories in Nazareth and Ramallah, and also of the ensemble Polyphony.
I got off the plane this morning at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, and headed for the bus station to take a scenic two-hour bus ride to Nazareth, and then dived into a day of discussions. The conversation feels like the one we have at CMW, but transferred to the populations here. At CMW we talk about creating transformative opportunities for young people for whom this experience gives voice and access.
Whereas we talk about creating cohesive urban community, here the conversation is about giving access and voice to the Arab Israeli young people, who are a minority in this country. The issues and challenges are similar. One of the members of the discussion today put it well, that programs like CMW and Nabeel's create interventions on multiple fronts–addressing racism, revitalizing classical music, developing or uplifting a particular region or city.
Then this evening, we watched Act 1 of Mozart's Magic Flute with 15-20 of Nabeel's students, and had a discussion afterward about how the characters in the opera were really learning to become independent thinkers, breaking away from falsehoods they were taught. Tomorrow we continue, and see where we wind up!
-Sebastian Ruth, Founder & Artistic Director
The historic Poirier's Diner (a 1947 Kullman, the second diner in the state to be individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places) has found a new home on our block of Westminster Street.
For more than fifty years, and under many different names, such as Armand's, Krystal's, the Top Hat, Arnold's and most recently, the El Faro, the Diner was located on Atwells Avenue at Eagle Square. On Tuesday, January 13, the Diner was placed on a truck and rolled down the block to its new home at 1380 Westminster Street.
The Diner will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. And it will feature classic American Diner fare, along with a bar and outdoor seating. It is expected to open in Summer 2012.
Short video by Sebastian: diner on the move
Photos courtesy of the Cogut Center
A group of Sara's cellists performed at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence during a holiday celebration for families of homicide victims.
We had a great time with Frank Rosenwein earlier this month. What an amazing guy! Here's a recording of John Harbison's Snow Country from the performance at Brown University's Cogut Center for the Humanities on December 10. New to all of us, this is some pretty incredible and evocative music, perfect for this time of the year. Enjoy!
Harbison introduction by Jesse Holstein
Harbison: Snow Country
As part of their second day at CMW this semester, NEC's Abreu Fellows were able to spend some quality time earlier this month engaging CMW students in musical activities during our weekly All-Play Day programming. We started the day with lunch at the office and an opportunity for the Abreu Fellows to share stories about their recent month-long internship experiences with CMW staff. Several Fellows shared the 3-minute videos that they had created to document their experiences. Then, it was off to D'Abate Elementary for a very busy afternoon with plenty of teaching artist participation, as evidenced by the following schedule:
Studio hour
Rm 101: Beginners
Rm 103: Chamber music for brass and strings (with Avi, Ben, Jennifer)
Rm 104: Phase II Quartet (Alondra, Alana, Liam, Ian); peer learning through coaching (with Stephanie)
Rm 105: Singing/Choir (with Alysia and Aisha)
Rm 106: String Improvisation/Extended techniques (with Julie)
Rm 107: Conducting: Phase III ensemble plus two aspiring conductors (with Jose Luis)
Rm 108: Advanced violin master class (with David)
Ensemble hour
Beginners (Sara, Ealain, joined by Alysia and Aisha)
Blue Notes (Jesse and Ariana, with Avi guest conducting)
Green Magics (Adrienne, Emmy, with Jennifer visiting, Julie playing)
Yellow Harmony Hornets (Robin, with Jose Luis conducting, and Stephanie and David playing)
Music Lab (Minna, with Ben)
We're looking forward to welcoming the Abreu Fellows back once more in May.
-Heath Marlow, Managing Director
This weekend, Jesse and I had the great pleasure of performing The Story of Ferdinand as guests of the Children’s Library at The Providence Athenaeum. This colourful piece by David Rideout is for violin and narrator and is based on Munro Leaf’s charming book. The gentle hero Ferdinand is a strong bull with a big heart, who would much rather smell the flowers under his favourite cork tree than fight in the bullfights of Madrid.
The performance featured a jumbo-sized version of Munro Leaf’s book with vibrant illustrations. Not only did the youngest members of our audience have some fine literary observations, they also gave us a virtuoso display of bovine sound effects. After the performance Jesse and I hosted a “petting zoo” so the children could try out some violins for themselves.
We would especially like to thank Children’s Librarian, Lindsay Shaw, for hosting us. In the spring, we hope to take the show on the road and with any luck, Ferdinand may soon be appearing at an elementary classroom near you!
-Ealain McMullin, Fellow
Stanford Thompson, a graduate of the Curtis Institute (trumpet) and the Abreu Fellows Program at the New England Conservatory, has been hard at work developing Play On, Philly!, an El Sistema-inspired program in West Philadelphia. Stanford participated in a panel discussion on the first day of last month's Music and Civil Society symposium, and several students and parents from his program were featured on the second day.
Click here to learn about Play On, Philly! in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
More photos by Jori in CMW's Flickr account.
[Excerpted from an email received from a Music and Civil Society participant]
I wanted to write to tell you about the remarkable event that closed my weekend [after attending Music and Civil Society]. I randomly chose Binghmaton, NY as the destination for my Saturday night drive because it lies roughly halfway between Providence and Cleveland. I arrived in a strange town in total darkness and hastily checked into my hotel room. The next morning I packed up and hiked the stairs down to the lobby. I decided to take the time the make a waffle before heading out.
I tend to be slightly wary when approached by strangers, but the central New Yorkers I encountered were so friendly that I soon found myself engaged in breakfast conversation with Johnny, an oil industry worker. As I picked up my viola to leave, he asked about the instrument. I told him it was a viola, explained that it was the alto relative of the soprano-range violin, and popped open the case so he could have a look.
"Play it!" he said.
I didn't see any reason not to, other than the flimsy excuse that I hadn't played in four days due to travel. I took out my instrument and played the first half of a Bach Sarabande. Johnny begin clapping instantly, and I was surprised to hear that I was being applauded in stereo – one of the hotel workers had come in to listen and was clapping from where she sat behind me. I was taken aback: they were both overjoyed to hear my 30-second sound bite of out-of-shape Bach. I thanked them, bid farewell to Johnny, and moved out into the lobby.
A middle-aged man was sitting at a computer in the lobby, and as I passed he asked me if I was auditioning for the symphony. I told him that if there was an orchestra with viola openings, I would probably eventually audition there. I learned from our brief conversation that we both hailed from Ohio (Cincinnati) and had ties to Ohio State. I finally went to the hotel counter to check out, and the hotel employee (a girl of about my age) told me that she missed the sound of a stringed instrument. Apparently her sister had played the violin before a falling out with a teacher prompted her to replace the fiddle with the guitar. If I was ever back in town, she said, I should check out the Tri-County Youth Orchestra.
I left feeling amazed that a few spontaneous bars of Bach had served to create connections between me and no fewer than four strangers. These individuals had each appreciated the craft in some way and felt that it had opened the door to conversation. I went from being a cranky breakfast attendee to an artist in thirty seconds flat, and felt like an ambassador for music in the minutes following.
As I rolled out of Binghamton, I couldn't believe how perfectly my breakfast had summed up our weekend's discussions. I believe that society did become more civil for the occupants of that hotel lobby on Sunday morning. I feel fortunate to have participated in a workshop that opened my ears, eyes, and heart to the communicative and empathetic capacities of our art form. All my best,
Annalisa
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