Engaging the Community

Aug 31 2006
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Aaron Flagg

Aaron A. Flagg was named dean of The Hartt School of the University of Hartford in March of 2009 by President Walter Harrison and Provost Lynn Pasquerella. As dean, he oversees a performing arts college for music, dance, and theatre with approximately 750 undergraduate and graduate students and 250 faculty and staff.

Originally from Baldwin Park, CA, Dr. Flagg is a professional trumpet player and received his undergraduate and master's degrees from The Juilliard School and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. His diverse experience includes concerto, recital, orchestral, and chamber music performances in classical, jazz, and new music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Hartford, he was Executive Director of Music Conservatory of Westchester (2005-2009), a graduate faculty member and Director of Educational Outreach at The Juilliard School (2000-2005), and Director of the Jazz Studies program at the University of Connecticut (1999-2000).

As a trumpet player, Dr. Flagg has given concerto and other solo performances with orchestras, toured with chamber music groups, and performed numerous recitals. He has given master classes and recitals at Jackson State University and Fayetteville State University, and presented lectures at the Curtis Institute, Oberlin College, and Carnegie Hall.

His jazz performances include the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, the Music Outreach Jazz Ensemble, and the Aaron Flagg Quartet. He has toured with the Tania Leon's Son Sonora Ensemble; recorded with Roberta Flack and operatic soprano Barbara Conrad; and performed with the New York Philharmonic, Manhattan Virtuosi, Lansing Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Wynton Marsalis, Gladys Knight, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among others.

Dr. Flagg is currently a board member of the League of American Orchestras in New York. He has served on numerous grant panels and was New York Metro Area chapter chair for the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. He has been a consultant with arts presenting organizations and universities around the country, while also being a teaching artist for 15 years with organizations including the Lincoln Center Institute, Carnegie Hall Education, New York Philharmonic Education, Memphis Arts Council, Guggenheim Museum, and the New York City Opera. He was named a national spokesman for the Music Educators National Conference in Virginia in 1999 and received the Rising Star Award for Westchester's "Forty under Forty" in 2008.

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Thanks to Ann Drinan, Ray Ricker, and all at Polyphonic for making time to address this critical topic. I have been thrilled to read the comments of my fellow panelists and hope this discussion fuels more. My final thoughts focus on “what,” “how,” and “why.”

As I mentioned in my first post, orchestra education concerts have existed for over 150 years. Hearing about what orchestras are doing today with their education programs is helpful for many and worthy of more recognition. Per Yvonne’s request, I would again recommend reading about other wonderful orchestra education and community engagement projects at the following links. MetLife Community Engagement Awards and the Bank of America Awards for Education. As we continue to refine our understanding of community, I hope it includes other professional musicians and artists. Just as athletes are seen socializing together, we should not perpetuate an isolated view of the arts.

In addition to crafting quality education programs and interactive concerts, it is also important to celebrate and empower the efforts of individual orchestra musicians, board members, and staff to make their orchestra feel more like “home” in their community. The stories of personal interaction are so powerful. It is clear that many musicians enjoy these opportunities to connect and that support through professional development to improve how this work is done is critical. Effective lesson design, public speaking, and classroom/boardroom management are skills that require craft and art, similar to playing an instrument.

Finally, learning “what” and improving “how” we do these programs is important, but pinpointing why we do “outreach work” or “community engagement” is even more important. “Engaging the Community” will remain an afterthought as long as its purpose remains unclear, unconnected to the institution’s mission, and unconnected to the expressed needs of real people, be they orchestra musicians or other community members. Is the real reason to sell more tickets to an undefined future audience; to placate a policy maker or respond to a major donor’s “great idea”; or is community engagement based on a “hedgehog concept” (an understanding of what you can be the best at. The place where passion, expertise, and your economic driver meet), which addresses mutually agreed upon needs. I am not optimist about success in community engagement except in the latter.

Thankfully, future musicians will still feel compelled to spend their careers in orchestras because of the great music, and, frankly, the “promise” of relative stability and higher wages. However, I see today’s conservatory students with a much greater awareness of their varied gifts and interests, and a desire to add value to the arts over the course of their careers. If the perception continues that the orchestra field moves slowly to embrace new, or even old ideas; that individual growth is undervalued; and that our reasons are largely selfish and feel devoid of soul (“the giving without want”), then these musicians may not be committed to the future of orchestras.

About the author

Aaron Flagg

Aaron A. Flagg was named dean of The Hartt School of the University of Hartford in March of 2009 by President Walter Harrison and Provost Lynn Pasquerella. As dean, he oversees a performing arts college for music, dance, and theatre with approximately 750 undergraduate and graduate students and 250 faculty and staff.

Originally from Baldwin Park, CA, Dr. Flagg is a professional trumpet player and received his undergraduate and master's degrees from The Juilliard School and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. His diverse experience includes concerto, recital, orchestral, and chamber music performances in classical, jazz, and new music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Hartford, he was Executive Director of Music Conservatory of Westchester (2005-2009), a graduate faculty member and Director of Educational Outreach at The Juilliard School (2000-2005), and Director of the Jazz Studies program at the University of Connecticut (1999-2000).

As a trumpet player, Dr. Flagg has given concerto and other solo performances with orchestras, toured with chamber music groups, and performed numerous recitals. He has given master classes and recitals at Jackson State University and Fayetteville State University, and presented lectures at the Curtis Institute, Oberlin College, and Carnegie Hall.

His jazz performances include the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, the Music Outreach Jazz Ensemble, and the Aaron Flagg Quartet. He has toured with the Tania Leon's Son Sonora Ensemble; recorded with Roberta Flack and operatic soprano Barbara Conrad; and performed with the New York Philharmonic, Manhattan Virtuosi, Lansing Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Wynton Marsalis, Gladys Knight, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among others.

Dr. Flagg is currently a board member of the League of American Orchestras in New York. He has served on numerous grant panels and was New York Metro Area chapter chair for the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. He has been a consultant with arts presenting organizations and universities around the country, while also being a teaching artist for 15 years with organizations including the Lincoln Center Institute, Carnegie Hall Education, New York Philharmonic Education, Memphis Arts Council, Guggenheim Museum, and the New York City Opera. He was named a national spokesman for the Music Educators National Conference in Virginia in 1999 and received the Rising Star Award for Westchester's "Forty under Forty" in 2008.

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