Abstract

This talk is part of the 11th series of webinars for Professional Development in the Arts.

The New World Symphony calls itself “America’s orchestral academy”. It is led by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and for three years, it sponsors approximately 90 young musicians it calls “fellows”. The NWS prides itself in creating innovative opportunities, structures and formats for the delivery of classical music, while also presenting itself as committed to community work. The study here presented focuses on an initiative named Connect developed by the Community Engagement Office of the NWS . The main participants were 15 fellows and approximately 40 high-school students who participated in two programs under the Connect initiative, namely NWS Virtual Hangouts—a series of digital meetings and interactions between fellows and high-school students across the country. The research project attempted to better understand the processes, challenges, and possible impact of this project upon the fellows, the participating students, as well as the institution as a whole. Findings will be organized in four categories for this presentation: 1) Community projects, and the role of institutions in building teaching confidence among professional musicians; 2) Community projects and the process of establishing pedagogical models/approaches; 3) Community projects and institutional challenges balancing stability and growth; and finally 4) The role of community projects in enhancing participatory culture and establishing communities of practice.

Patrick Schmidt is chair of music education at University of Western Ontario. He served as Associate Professor of Music Education and Associate Director of Florida International University’s School of Music in Miami, Florida from 2012 to 2015 and at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ from 2001 to 2012. Patrick taught middle school general and high school choral for 7 years. His innovative work in critical pedagogy, urban music education and policy studies is recognized nationally and internationally. He is currently working on a single-authored book on Policy and Music Education and another co-edited book on international policy perspective with Richard Colwell, both for Oxford University Press.