From the Blog: Arts Leadership

At From the Top, we recognize the benefits of musical therapy and find that there can be powerful healing in music (it’s powerful stuff!). But one composer at MIT is taking it to the next level: combining musical therapy with technology to help people with disabilities discover the joy of music, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Tod Machover’s program, Hyperscore, allows users to create artwork on a monitor, which the computer then translates into a musical score. He took Hyperscore to a hospital for patients with physical and mental disabilities, where a cerebral palsy patient named Dan Ellsey experienced the program. He did so well with Hyperscore–he made CDs and taught other patients–that he was featured in the 2008 TED conference! Other patients who used the program experienced less hallucinations and were even becoming more social.

CDAL members at the Hope Lodge also raised money for the American Cancer Society and performed at Boston's Relay for Life.

Our own Center for the Development of the Arts Leaders became very interested in musical therapy when they worked at the Hope Lodge, where cancer patients being treated in Boston can stay for free.

They designed activities that were more interactive with the residents–including a drum circle, collaborative concerts, games, and writing about musical experiences–to help ease residents from their pain.

Music therapy can have an array of benefits for a variety of different people, including  children, those with mental health problems, and those with Alzheimer’s Disease. The American Music Therapy Association even produces two journals dedicated to researching music therapy.

Perhaps with future advances in technology (and a few science gurus like the MIT students ) our CDAL members can catch onto the new wave of music therapy and help others heal through the sounds they create!

Hello from CalTeamDelta!!! We are Maddie, Tiffany, Dante, John and Will. This past year we have been working at the Goddard House, an assisted living facility in Brookline as part of From the Top’s Year-Long Arts Leadership Program.

From L to R: Dante Velasquez, John Carney, Williams Hess, Tiffany Cheng, Madeline Bauer, and Mike Dahlberg (mentor)

“What are you doing at an assisted living facility?” one might ask. What probably pops into your head is kids playing for elderly people who are half listening, maybe sleeping. This is not at all what our project is about.

Arts leaders Tiffany, Will and Maddie with residents at The Goddard House

After visiting the Goddard House more than 25 times this year, we have really gotten to know and love the residents on a personal level. We started out by addressing the needs of Goddard House and what we could learn from and contribute to their community. They key word being community. We tried to look through the eyes of the residents and really try to imagine what life is like for them; how they are adjusting to being without their families, growing older and being in a new, unfamiliar setting.

Arts leaders Maddie, John and Tiffany leading a music circle with residents

Starting out as informal concerts in the library, our weekly interactions with the residents have grown into impromptu group sing-a-longs and extended conversations. Our music has been a means for us to learn about the residents as people and as a way to connect with a generation so different than our own. To take our relationships with the residents to another level, we decided to interview them to learn even more about their lives and musical experiences.

16 yr-old arts leader, Maddie, shares a powerful moment:

My first interview was with Floyd, a 100-year-old resident. Not only is his age remarkable, but his interesting life stories. One of the highlights from my experience at the Goddard House  was when Floyd shared his  life-long passion for dancing.  ”I wasn’t sure if you would be interested in these, but I brought them,” he said in his deep, rough voice as he pulled out three pictures from his walker. I looked at them in awe. These pictures included him dancing with his wife as a young man, and him dancing at his 100th birthday party at the Goddard House. Through these pictures, I was able to witness that if you have a passion, it can transcend age and time. To see a man as old as Floyd feel joy from doing what he loves reminded me to always appreciate the music that I play and interact with on a daily basis. It was at this moment that I realized that age and time don’t matter.  If you can pursue your passions, then you find happiness wherever you go. This moment gave meaning to the interviews and this unspoken lesson will stick with me when I am as old as Floyd and able to appreciate the violin.

Want to meet these inspiring arts leaders and learn more about their work at the Goddard House? Come to the Boston Class of 2011 Final Exhibition on January 21st, where you will learn more about From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders and meet four other teams who have spent the past year using their music to make a difference.

15-year-old cellist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Matthew Liversedge has always believed that music can be enjoyed by anyone, and wanted to share that view with other high school students in his community. So on the morning of September 30th, Matt and his friend Stephen Wright (violin) visited the Oakdale Christian Academy, a boarding school for high school students, to share this message. They created a program that combined both classical and popular works, tying them together as pieces that inspire their own playing. Matt’s program was part of the school’s daily chapel session, which meets for an hour every morning..

“My primary goal was to help these high-school age students to connect personally with my music by making the performance personal and interactive. I wanted to communicate the enjoyment and pleasure music can bring to an individual by presenting the music as fun and exciting, yet also as something serious and concrete.”

Read more about Matt’s presentations on our Arts Leadership Map!

13-year-old guitarist Thomas Pfefer believes that music is a gift meant to be shared with others. So when representatives from the Volunteers of America Children’s Center in Allentown, PA asked him to present to a group their students, Thomas said he’d love to. He performed a variety of guitar piece, then share more about how the guitar works and why he loves to perform music.

“My goal was to expose kids to classical music. Most of the kids had never attended a recital and I believe that none of them had ever heard classical guitar before. I really wanted to show them how fun and inspiring classical music can be. Beyond the music component, I just wanted to share my passion with them and maybe inspire them to become passionate about something.”

Read more about Thomas’ presentations on our Arts Leadership Map!

18-year-old pianist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Yifan Wu wanted to find a way to reach out to the elderly in his hometown of Flushing, New York. He was introduced to the Korean American Senior Center, and reached out to their event coordinator in hopes of taking part in one of their weekly programs with its members. The event was a combination of music and activities, with staff from the Center engaging the audience through movement and dance.

“This performance showed me that the main point is not how good a performance is, but to bring happiness to your audience. They were all really sweet, and love life and music. At this event, my music brought them happiness, which made me very happy.”

Read more about Yifan’s performance on our Arts Leadership Map!

17-year-old flutist and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Ryan Norville wanted the youth from his hometown of Fort Myers, Florida to see and experience the power of music. He chose to visit with students from his old elementary school, Tanglewood Elementary School, where he gave two back-to-back presentations for 4th and 5th grade students. He was joined on the program by a friend, flutist Michal Zeleny – another From the Top alum! (Show #226). After performing a variety of solo works and duets, the two spoke about their own experiences and shared ways for the students to get involved with music in their community.

“My goal for this project was to inspire one person, at least one, to really take music seriously and to do something great with it, and to do something for their community.”

Read more about Ryan’s presentations on our Arts Leadership Map!

“The first day I walked into the beginning of an orchestra rehearsal at the Conservatory Lab, I saw Ezekiel, a 5th grader, sitting in a seat in the first violin section. As I walked into the room, he looked up at me and started playing through his part to “Dragonhunter.” As I walked farther back in to the room, I could see his eyes glance over at me and I could sense a feeling of pride. He was proud to be holding his violin, he was proud to be playing music, he was proud to be part of this ensemble.” -Arts Leader and GEEKsystem team member Elizabeth O’Neil

We are Grazi, Elizabeth, Edalina, and Karolina and we are team GEEKsystem of From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders. We are working with the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton, MA a pre-K-6 public charter school that has fully incorporated the inspiring El Sistema music program model, allowing for almost 3 hours of daily music instruction for every one of its students. As a team, we have two goals: to raise awareness of El Sistema in the Boston area and to help lay the foundation for a similar program at the East Somerville Community School.

Left to right: Elizabeth, Brian (mentor), Graziella, Karolina, Edalina

To do this, we have organized a concert that will take place on November 16th at the Somerville High School auditorium at 3pm. “El Sistema in the Ville” is meant to bring together kids from both schools to play music and to highlight the importance of support for music education. Read the press release.

Graziella with a Conservatory Lab student

Currently, El Sistema Boston is limited to the Conservatory Lab Charter School. The program is focused on creating social change by nurturing a passion for music and excellence in each student. Imagine how many kids could benefit from this if the El Sistema model was brought to other schools in Greater Boston!

Community support is crucial for the success of concert, and the El Sistema initiative in general! GEEKsystem spent the spring getting to know and understand the program and it has been so inspiring to watch the passion in each student grow every day. We want every kid to share in this life changing experience!

Learn more about El Sistema and see the students in action:

How can you help? Come to the concert and be a part of this experience! If not, spread the word about the concert and about this initiative by sharing our Facebook event.

Hello from Molly, Keith, Ryan, Lillian and Rachel – one of From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL) teams! For the past ten months, the five of us have worked to bring music to Hope Lodge – a place where people who come to Boston for outpatient cancer treatment can stay free of charge.

Left to right: Lillian, Keith, Ryan, Chris (Lodge Staff), Rachel, Molly, Kassie (Mentor)

What have we done and what are we learning?
We started our work at Hope Lodge by organizing themed concert nights for the guests. They were fun and the residents enjoyed each one, but we realized that we were just playing for them. We could do that on our own – and being part of CDAL, we knew that we not only had the opportunity, but the support to pursue more. In an effort to provide both relaxing, comfortable musical environments as well as interactive experiences to the guests, our work has transformed over the past ten months into organizing collaborative concerts with Hope Lodge guests, discussions, playing games, raising money for the American Cancer Society, and performing at Boston’s Relay for Life!

Ryan and Keith play a duet for Hope Lodge guests as they finish their dinner.

What are some challenges we face?
When we started, we quickly realized that the turnover rate of those staying at the Lodge was as high as 2–3 people a day, which made planning experiences that built off of one another difficult. So, we had a dilemma: how do we create a “community of hope” and design a comprehensive, interactive musical program, when each time we come, we can’t build on what we did last time? We’re still working on this. Since the beginning, we’ve been interested in learning more about musical therapy and exploring how and why music can empower, inspire, and create positive change. Obviously none of us are professional music therapists, but we thought pursuing activities that resembled what music therapists do might be an effective way to connect with residents, especially since many are very sick.

Through research, meetings with professionals and partaking in some great music therapy events at Berklee College of Music, we got a chance to learn about clinical musical therapy and why it is so powerful. There are many studies that attribute music therapy to enhance the mood, quality of life, and in some cases, pain, in adults with cancer. We are trying to work out a happy medium between performing for the residents and having them partake in activities that will give them a temporary distraction from their pain. The research in musical therapy that we have done has been invaluable in planning our agenda for the fall.

What are we doing now?
This fall, we are focusing on planning programs that combine performing for and interacting with the residents. To start, we have been holding programs that mix performances with singalongs and writing activities that capture the residents’ experiences with music. We are also organizing a drum circle and recording a “CD of Hope,” filled with inspiring and hopeful songs. Hope Lodge guests will be able to take this CD home with them as a way to continue their journey towards healing.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more updates! We are really excited to see where the end of the year takes us!

Anna DeLoi (harp) and Nash Ryder (violin), two arts leaders of From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders, will be presenting a benefit concert this Sunday, October 30th at 3pm at the Unitarian Universality Church in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Click here to view the invitation (PDF).

Donations given will directly support MusiConnects, the music education nonprofit they have worked with since January. Read more about Anna and Nash’s inspiring leadership project.

Admission to the concert is free and open to the public. There will be a reception following the performance – a great time to catch up with Anna and Nash and learn more about their music and arts leadership work!

Address: Unitarian Universality Church, 28 Mugford Street, Marblehead, MA

Anna DeLoi (harp) and Nash Ryder (violin), two arts leaders of From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders, will be presenting a benefit concert this Sunday, October 30th at 3pm at the Unitarian Universality Church in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Click here to view the invitation (PDF).

Donations given will directly support MusiConnects, the music education nonprofit they have worked with since January. Read more about Anna and Nash’s inspiring leadership project.

Admission to the concert is free and open to the public. There will be a reception following the performance – a great time to catch up with Anna and Nash and learn more about their music and arts leadership work!

Address: Unitarian Universality Church, 28 Mugford Street, Marblehead, MA

It’s been ten whole years since we’ve heard from alum Andrew Roitstein, a bassist who played on Show 051 in Lenox, Massachusetts alongside his twin brother, flutist Matthew Roitstein.

These days Andrew lives in New York and plays with another From the Top alum, violinist Pala Garcia (Show 068 in Portland, Oregon), in the Toomai String Quintet, the resident string ensemble for Carnegie Hall’s Music Connections program. Through this program, the group plays in hospitals, community centers, and even correctional facilities. They are currently the Ensemble in Residence at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

“We are working with Jacobi staff to create a ‘musical hospital’,” said Andrew. “We are searching for ways that we can make not only an emotional, but also medical impact through our music.” Andrew’s work with the music hospital is similar to the arts leadership project of another radio show alum. This year violinist Caeli Smith founded Rayos de Canción (Rays of Music) to raise awareness about the power of music to facilitate healing. She traveled to Guatemala with several Juilliard students to put her work into action – read about it on our map!

Andrew on a music outreach trip to Mexico.

Andrew has been a substitute for the New York and Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestras, but a large part of his career is spent working with young people. He is part of the faculty at the New York Philharmonic’s School Partnership Program and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, helping public school elementary students perform, compose, and see great classical music. Andrew’s work with children was greatly inspired by his time on From the Top, which he said really set an example.

“As a professional musician looking back on my experience with From the Top, I think the show really demonstrates how much of a difference one meaningful, high-quality musical encounter can make on a young person,” said Andrew. “Now that I work with young people, I strive to instill that same sense of empowerment in them, whether I am playing an interactive concert, teaching a lesson, or getting a group of Brooklyn public school 3rd graders ready to watch their first NY Philharmonic concert.”

For the past few months, From the Top has been hard at work launching a Boston Pilot, as part of our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL). This blog is part of a series written by Linda Gerstle, Director of Education and Community Partnerships, chronicling the pilot year of this program. Read the other posts here.

Charlie is the “leader” of the current events discussion, the man with the microphone. Ben has a son in Syria and Mimi is very outgoing. Floyd sets up the chairs, is loud, friendly, and 100 years old!!! These are the ways in which the Center for the Development of Arts Leaders Team Delta have come to know the residents at the Goddard House. Team Delta has been so captivated by the residents’ stories that they are recording and cataloging those stories on a CD that will be given to residents, their families, and staff. The five arts leaders are working with their mentor, Mike Dahlberg, to develop an interview protocol for these conversations. They will be learning some recording and editing techniques as well in order to produce the CD. The groundwork for this effort was laid by the team over the past six months; they hosted a series of mini soirees for increasing numbers of residents whose input was consistently sought in creating the program content. Music excerpts from the soirees chosen by the residents will also be the back drop for the CD stories.

(L to R) John Carney, Will Hess, Dante Velasquez, Mike Dahlberg (mentor), Maddie Bauer, Tiffany Cheng, and Danielle O'Brien (Goddard House)

Opened in 1849 as the first private, non-profit home for elders in Massachusetts, the Goddard House in Brookline, MA for Assisted Living and Goddard House Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Plain, MA offer a continuing commitment to elders through a range of services and care. Goddard House was also the first partner to sign onto the Center for the Development of Arts Leaders pilot year. As part of this pilot, teams of teen and early college musicians in Greater Boston are doing applied projects with community partners as part of an exploration of what it means to be an arts leader.

Team Meeting at Panera

In addition to the soiree series with the group of residents and story project described above, Team Delta has had some opportunities to interact with the Alzheimer unit at Goddard. This has been challenging in good ways for the team, inspiring them to consider the ways in which music can create memorable experiences for those whose memory capacity is compromised.

The experience at Goddard has been transforming for many of the Team Delta arts leaders, opening a window on a world that most don’t have regular opportunities to experience. As one of the arts leaders reflected, I wish I had had this experience while my grandparents were alive.

For the past few months, From the Top has been hard at work launching a Boston Pilot, as part of our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL). This blog is part of a series written by Linda Gerstle, Director of Education and Community Partnerships, chronicling the pilot year of this program. Read the other posts here.

Charlie is the “leader” of the current events discussion, the man with the microphone. Ben has a son in Syria and Mimi is very outgoing. Floyd sets up the chairs, is loud, friendly, and 100 years old!!! These are the ways in which the Center for the Development of Arts Leaders Team Delta have come to know the residents at the Goddard House. Team Delta has been so captivated by the residents’ stories that they are recording and cataloging those stories on a CD that will be given to residents, their families, and staff. The five arts leaders are working with their mentor, Mike Dahlberg, to develop an interview protocol for these conversations. They will be learning some recording and editing techniques as well in order to produce the CD. The groundwork for this effort was laid by the team over the past six months; they hosted a series of mini soirees for increasing numbers of residents whose input was consistently sought in creating the program content. Music excerpts from the soirees chosen by the residents will also be the back drop for the CD stories.

(L to R) John Carney, Will Hess, Dante Velasquez, Mike Dahlberg (mentor), Maddie Bauer, Tiffany Cheng, and Danielle O'Brien (Goddard House)

Opened in 1849 as the first private, non-profit home for elders in Massachusetts, the Goddard House in Brookline, MA for Assisted Living and Goddard House Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Plain, MA offer a continuing commitment to elders through a range of services and care. Goddard House was also the first partner to sign onto the Center for the Development of Arts Leaders pilot year. As part of this pilot, teams of teen and early college musicians in Greater Boston are doing applied projects with community partners as part of an exploration of what it means to be an arts leader.

Team Meeting at Panera

In addition to the soiree series with the group of residents and story project described above, Team Delta has had some opportunities to interact with the Alzheimer unit at Goddard. This has been challenging in good ways for the team, inspiring them to consider the ways in which music can create memorable experiences for those whose memory capacity is compromised.

The experience at Goddard has been transforming for many of the Team Delta arts leaders, opening a window on a world that most don’t have regular opportunities to experience. As one of the arts leaders reflected, I wish I had had this experience while my grandparents were alive.

Three-time radio/TV show alum Mike Thurber reached out to us earlier this year with an exciting idea – he wanted to create a recording to celebrate From the Top’s efforts to support young artists and keep classical music alive and well.

Mike teamed up with other From the Top alums Charles Yang, Ibanda Ruhumbika and Caleb Hudson, and they worked with Matt McCorkle at Equal Sonics in New York City to make “And the Sound is Music.”

After months of hard work, the song is completed and available for download! Mike and his team also produced a mini-documentary about this project:

You can download the song here by giving as much as you’re moved, and the proceeds will benefit our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders.

A huge thanks to Mike, Matt, Charles, Ibanda, and Caleb for their hard work over the summer!

For the past few months, From the Top has been hard at work launching a Boston Pilot, as part of our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL). This blog is part of a series written by Linda Gerstle, Director of Education and Community Partnerships, chronicling the pilot year of this program. Read the other posts here.

Anna gives a harp demonstration to students

To the astonishment of his teacher, a student at the Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, Massachusetts who was not able to hold a pencil, had the motor control and dexterity to play the harp that Anna DeLoi brought to his kindergarten classroom. Anna and her arts leader teammate, Nash Ryder, are now a regular presence in the school. Right now they are working with the kindergarten teacher to introduce students to the joy of music and some of its component parts – instrument families, rhythmic patterns, famous composers, etc.  Then, in early February when From the Top tapes its next radio show in Boston, the students will be connected with the show performers to learn about the role of music in young musicians’ lives.

The Anna/Nash team of two is the smallest of the five teams participating in From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders –  Boston Pilot. With the guidance of their mentor Kassie Eberle, Anna and Nash are working with CDAL partner MusiConnects under the leadership of Betsy Hinkle. MusiConnects is establishing chamber group residences in public schools in Boston. Their approach is a new model of music education that brings kids and families together with professional musicians around the shared intention of building a thriving community. With 83% of the student population at the Chittick School qualifying for free/reduced lunch, offering arts opportunities that are free of cost is crucial.

Nash works with students at Chittick Elementary School

Locally sponsored house concerts are one of the primary fundraising strategies for MusiConnects. Nash and Anna are at the center of this effort as well, having spent the entire summer organizing a concert that will be performed at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead on Sunday, October 30 at 3:00 pm. This event is a family affair of sorts as well – Nash’s grandmother, a Marblehead resident, has been instrumental in rallying the community around MusiConnects’ mission!

Anna and Nash wanted to share their passion for music and arts leadership with other young performers, so they put together the video below. We show this during Arts Leadership Orientations to our radio performers as a way to inform and inspire the young musicians who appear on our program!

For the past few months, From the Top has been hard at work launching a Boston Pilot, as part of our Center for the Development of Arts Leaders (CDAL). This blog is part of a series written by Linda Gerstle, Director of Education and Community Partnerships, chronicling the pilot year of this program. Read the other posts here.

Anna gives a harp demonstration to students

To the astonishment of his teacher, a student at the Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, Massachusetts who was not able to hold a pencil, had the motor control and dexterity to play the harp that Anna DeLoi brought to his kindergarten classroom. Anna and her arts leader teammate, Nash Ryder, are now a regular presence in the school. Right now they are working with the kindergarten teacher to introduce students to the joy of music and some of its component parts – instrument families, rhythmic patterns, famous composers, etc.  Then, in early February when From the Top tapes its next radio show in Boston, the students will be connected with the show performers to learn about the role of music in young musicians’ lives.

The Anna/Nash team of two is the smallest of the five teams participating in From the Top’s Center for the Development of Arts Leaders –  Boston Pilot. With the guidance of their mentor Kassie Eberle, Anna and Nash are working with CDAL partner MusiConnects under the leadership of Betsy Hinkle. MusiConnects is establishing chamber group residences in public schools in Boston. Their approach is a new model of music education that brings kids and families together with professional musicians around the shared intention of building a thriving community. With 83% of the student population at the Chittick School qualifying for free/reduced lunch, offering arts opportunities that are free of cost is crucial.

Nash works with students at Chittick Elementary School

Locally sponsored house concerts are one of the primary fundraising strategies for MusiConnects. Nash and Anna are at the center of this effort as well, having spent the entire summer organizing a concert that will be performed at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead on Sunday, October 30 at 3:00 pm. This event is a family affair of sorts as well – Nash’s grandmother, a Marblehead resident, has been instrumental in rallying the community around MusiConnects’ mission!

Anna and Nash wanted to share their passion for music and arts leadership with other young performers, so they put together the video below. We show this during Arts Leadership Orientations to our radio performers as a way to inform and inspire the young musicians who appear on our program!