Perhaps my most intense pet peeve about playing in an orchestra has to do with fingerings. When one has to share a part with someone else, one expects a bit of respect. But, unfortunately, that often doesn’t happen — I have known stand partners to write fingerings over almost every note in the part. To[…]
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Many orchestras are designing outreach programs, in order for their musicians to become more involved with their community. One of the more successful community engagement programs is that of the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra) in Ottawa. In 2006 Polyphonic published two articles about NAC Orchestra’s outreach to Canada’s aboriginal population. NAC tours nationally[…]
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Recently the League of American Orchestras announced the recipients of 22
Education and Community Investment Grants from the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. Applicants for the re-granting program came from every orchestra budget group. The initial 204 applicants were narrowed by an independent advisory panel to 44 semi-finalists; all were then judged on six criteria: the degree of innovation and relevance to community needs; the orchestra’s capacity to deliver; the of the program appropriateness to mission and community; the appropriateness and strength of partnership(s); the ability to assess outcomes; and professional development for musicians and staff.
According to the League’s press release, “A prerequisite for qualifying orchestras was the existence of partnerships with local cultural and/or community organizations, such as schools or social service providers. This year’s grants … will fund both new and established innovative programs including: long-term in-school partnerships and afterschool programs; health and wellness initiatives in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes; and programs for the underserved and underprivileged, including incarcerated youth.
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Last summer, Leif Bjland, Music Director, Steve Collins, Executive Director, and Calida Jones, Program Director of Bravo Waterbury, their El Sistema nucleo program, traveled to Venezuela for 10 days with several teachers and administrators from the OrchKids project in Baltimore, and Mark Churchill from New England Conservatory. All three WSO staffers found it a life-changing experience, which is common for American musicians who spend time in Venezuela, experiencing the El Sistema program at its grass-roots.
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Polly Kahn, Vice President for Learning and Leadership Development at the League of American Orchestras, asked Polyphonic to post information about the upcoming February 1st deadline for applications for their prestigious Orchestra Management Fellowship program. The Orchestra Management Fellowship program is the League’s premier leadership training program, and is designed to launch executive careers in[…]
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Back in the 1990s, Gary Race worked with the National Symphony’s Education Department to assist NSO musicians in devising quality educational and outreach programs for in-school and community performances. In 2006, Polyphonic asked Gary to write a series of articles, explaining his approach to creating innovative, interesting and informative presentations. Gary’s set of articles, “Getting[…]
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I met Dr. Lisa Wong at the airport in Dallas, returning from the 2012 League of American Orchestras conference. At the check-in counter, I discovered that she was flying to Boston on the same plane, so I asked her which orchestra she was with. When I learned that she played with the Longwood Symphony, I mentioned that I had heard that someone in her orchestra had written a book about it, and could she put me in touch with the author. She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out a copy of her book, “Scales to Scalpels.” And it turns out that she lives quite close to my mother – she and her husband, Lynn Chang, dropped me off, saving me a late-night trolley ride. What an interesting set of coincidences!
Lisa’s book is a fascinating account of the formation and work of the Longwood Symphony, her own passage through music and medicine, and lots of information about the powerful healing aspects of music. She discusses her trips to Venezuela with her daughter as part of her experiences with El Sistema, and gives us lots of information about how the ear works and how the brain processes information and music.
But most importantly, she tells us stories that inspire: about Ruth, who was awakened from a catatonic state by a therapist’s turning on the local classical music station; about the children at the burn center who were so inspired by the famous violinist who himself had survived a terrible fire as a child; about the medical musicians, all with relatives suffering from Alzheimer’s, who were amazed at the reaction to their playing for a group of Alzheimer’s patients. Lisa’s book will truly reinforce your perceptions of the power of music to heal.
Lisa came to Hartford recently to give a presentation at the Medical Society of Hartford about her book and to talk about the many connections between music and medicine. She played a few movements from the Third Bach Suite on her viola during her presentation. The doctors in attendance were rapt, both to listen to her music and to hear her words. I’ve adapted passages from her book, her remarks in Hartford, and our subsequent conversation into an interview about the Longwood Symphony.
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Dr. Alice Brandfonbrener is arguably the pre-eminent physician in the world of music medicine. Several years ago, Polyphonic asked her to write an overview of her experience with common musician injuries, and give her advice to instrumentalists about finding the proper diagnosis and care. She responded with a somewhat whimsical article, quoting Little Buttercup from[…]
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I visited SymphonyNOW this morning, the League’s news website, and was pleased to see a video featuring my music director, Carolyn Kuan. I’m a violist with the Hartford Symphony in Connecticut. For our opening concert set last week, we performed four concerts of Beethoven’s Ninth paired with the Yellow River Cantata, written by Xian Xinghai[…]
Read MoreI attended a meeting of the Hartford Medical Society last week to hear a presentation by Dr. Lisa Wong, a pediatrician who plays violin with the Longwood Symphony in Boston – the doctor’s orchestra. She’s written a book, Scales to Scalpels, about the orchestra and the role of music in medicine. As I was chatting[…]
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This really struck a chord with me! I, too, find messy, over-marked scores to be a distraction.Choristers, who often share…