This season, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) launched a pilot program called Musical Connections, which provides a wide variety of live music experiences to people dealing with challenging social and emotional circumstances in New York City hospitals, hospices, correctional facilities, shelters, and elderly care facilities. During the 2009–2010 season, WMI will present approximately 60 free musical events in these settings. To address the particular needs of these audiences, the program’s roster of performing artists and ensembles have been specially selected and trained to present concerts, workshops, and residencies. These first-rate musicians will benefit from professional development opportunities offered through the Weill Music Institute's Professional Programs, deepening their knowledge of community engagement and effective performance practices. Click here for the roster of artists performing Musical Connections events this season.Partnerships with non-traditional concert venues throughout New York City have flourished during the pilot program, resulting in plans for an expanded Musical Connections program during the upcoming 2010–2011 season. In addition to presenting concerts, musicians have also led various residencies, using creative music making activities to work with residents in these unique settings to create new songs and participatory performances. Musical Connections offers an opportunity for participants and staff at the host organizations to interact with professional musicians from many genres, sharing in the social, physical, emotional, educational, and spirit-raising benefits of live music.
Musical Connections concerts through the end of the season:
(Members of the press who are interested in attending Musical Explorers programs should contact Maggie Ciadella at 212-903-9753 or mciadella@carnegiehall.org for potential opportunities.)
Thursday, February 4 at 11:00 a.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: EMELINE MICHEL
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Friday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: DOC WALLACE TRIO
Eric M. Taylor Center (EMTC), Rikers Island
Monday, February 15 at 3:00 p.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: FIREWORKS ENSEMBLE
Borden Avenue Veterans Residence
Wednesday, February 17 at 2:45 p.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: SOSPIRO WINDS
Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute
Tuesday, February 23 (Time to be announced)
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: BRIDGET KIBBEY AND JOSEPH BRENT
Kings County Hospital Center
Wednesday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: CHRIS WASHBURNE AND SYOTOS BAND
Sing Sing
Thursday, February 25 at 11:15 a.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: DAVID KRAKAUER AND ABRAHAM INC.
Summit School (Department of Juvenile Justice)
Thursday, May 6 at 6:30 p.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: DOC WALLACE TRIO
Pathways to Housing
Wednesday, May 19 at 10:30 a.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: THE LASCIVIOUS BIDDIES
Bronx Elderly Care Facilities at Jacobi Medical Center Rotunda
Monday, May 31 at 3:30 p.m.
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: SLAVIC SOUL PARTY
Robert N. Davoren Complex, Rikers Island
Friday, June 4 (Time to be announced)
MUSICAL CONNECTIONS: EMELINE MICHEL
Kings County Hospital Center
To learn more about this program, please click here.
The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall
The Weill Music Institute creates broad-reaching music education and community programs that play a central role in Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Woven into the fabric of the Carnegie Hall concert season, these programs occur at Carnegie Hall as well as in schools and throughout neighborhoods, providing musical opportunities for everyone, from preschoolers to adults, new listeners to emerging professionals. With access to the world’s greatest artists and latest technologies, the Weill Music Institute is uniquely positioned to inspire the next generation of music lovers, to nurture tomorrow’s musical talent, and to shape the evolution of musical learning itself. The Weill Music Institute’s school and community programs annually serve over 115,000 children, students, teachers, parents, young music professionals, and adults in the New York metropolitan area and across the US, as well as 65,000 people around the world through its online and distance learning initiatives.
For more information, please visit: carnegiehall.org/exploreandlearn.
Image from top of release: Jacobi Medical Center (Photo by Jennifer Taylor), Photo Courtesy of the The Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute