Urgent Community News Update
Music needs your help!
This just in! Polisi's view on musicians in America!
“Performing artists must no longer believe that their “work” stops at the end of a performance.”
"This extraordinary development can only benefit the universal culture of music making and may - if the process continues - even help create a better understanding of the human spirit."
“The assumption that the arts are essential elements of our environment as human beings has been weakened by the extraordinary power of the media…and the general perception that the arts are only for a tiny portion of our population who have not been buffeted by the spiral of poverty, crime, and disease that has torn into the heart of this nation.”
“These artists must be not only communicative through their art, but also be knowledgeable about the intricacies of our society – politically, economically, socially – so that they can effectively work toward showing the power of the arts to a nation and its people who are often uninformed about the arts and view these activities with suspicion, occasional disdain, and frequently as being irrelevant.”
“A person who cannot be a competent and communicative performer on a musical instrument will rarely be a competent and communicative music teacher.”
"Lead through example, and remember the power you hold as an artist."
What Polisi did about this at Juilliard
“Although students and faculty interacted on a daily basis, there was no deep sense of community or belonging at the school. Juilliard, in many ways, was a commuter school…A residence hall was opened in 1990.”
“During my tenure at Juilliard, I have formed the conviction that American artists must become active members of communities, working effectively and methodically to ensure that the arts are a vital element in the fabric of American society.”
Morse Fellowship Program
Teaching experience for Juilliard students
A Report from in the field! Higgins' view of community music!
Community Music
- Music of a community
- Communal music making
- Active intervention between music leader and participants
- More emphasis given on the process than the product
- Socially necessary
Who is it for?
- Everybody has the right and ability to make, create and enjoy their own music
- Support music participation beyond classroom walls
- All ages, genders, nationalities, languages, etc
- Mental health patients
- Prison inmates
- English as a second language (ESL) students
Humans are social; they need the connectedness and belonging that music brings.