Community MusicWorks at 20!
Welcome to the twentieth season of Community MusicWorks! As we round the corner of two decades, we recommit to the original vision of this organization and celebrate the tremendous growth in a community of musicians, alumni, audiences, and families. John Dewey, in his 1934 Art as Experience, argues that there is a vital need to “restore continuity between the refined and intensified forms of experience that are works of art, and the everyday events, doings and sufferings” that are daily life. His work was to understand the true origins, and therefore meanings, of art, and to separate those from the museums, concert halls, and other institutions of art to get back to the very nature of what arts experience is. Dewey concludes that we need to remember the essential link between art and everyday life. In many ways, this has been the undertaking of Community MusicWorks over the past two decades—musicians working to restore continuity between concert music and everyday experience, practicing their art form in communities where their roles as educators, performers, composers, and neighbors all add up to a larger whole. In our work, however, there is the risk of seeing art as only instrumental to another end—art helps kids in school, or it contributes to a sense of place. These are important effects of arts experiences, to be sure. But it is critical to remember that the experience of knowing ourselves, of having a space for reflection and emotional resonance is the experience of art. In our twentieth season, we undertake experiments that link artistry and community. Our concerts will range from performances in grand halls to the corner taqueria. We’ll present a range of music, from spirited new works by contemporary composers Carolyn Shaw, Jessie Montgomery, and Christopher Theofanidis; to our annual fall Bach concerts; to the winter concerts of new music; to a reprise of Fantasia, a salsa-inspired concerto that will bring back musicians and alumni from our twenty years in a celebration of our community. (see our Calendar for details about all these upcoming events) We will also celebrate this milestone by having CMW musicians appearing around our city in twenty pop-up concerts. Stay tuned for these wonderful collisions that restore continuity between concert music and the everyday. And finally, our ensemble name. Over the evolution of our organization, we have seen many iterations—from the early days of one, two, then four musicians being resident in our community, to the decade of the Providence String Quartet, to the expanded forces represented by the CMW Players. In this twentieth season, as we recommit to the vision of a collection of artists making their work together under the mission of Community MusicWorks, we rename the faculty musical ensemble: the MusicWorks Collective. Music works for community, for making meaning, for bringing people together, for restoring continuities between art and everyday life. We look forward to celebrating continually, all season long! –-Sebastian Ruth, Founder and Artistic Director
photography by Stephanie Alvarez Ewens |
