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BevoriD irAdrrioN Among Partnerships Orchestras, i e Schools, and Communities Myers Digitized by the Internet Archive 2012 with funding from in Member Boston Library Consortium Libraries http://archive.org/details/beyondtraditionpOOmyer onD TrAduioN Among Partnerships Orchestras, Schools, and Communities A Project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts David E. Myers, Project Director Cynthia Thomas, Research Coordinator June 1996 Georgia State University School of Music Atlanta, GA national endowment for^Wthe ARTS Coop. Agreement DCA95-I2 ©1996 by David Myers for Georgia State University and its School of Music. Permission to quote from or reproduce portions of this document for nonprofit purposes is granted when due acknowledgement is made. The National Endowment for the Arts retains unrestricted rights for use for federal purposes, including reproduction in digital form. Table of Contents Acknowledgements 3 SECTION I Introduction: Moving Beyond Tradition 7 A Partnership Approach to Orchestra Education Programs 7 A Study ofPartnerships Among Orchestras, Schools, and Communities 8 Organization ofthe Report 8 SECTION II School Partnerships: Is There a Role for Orchestras? 11 Changing Views ofSchool-Community Cooperation 11 Orchestras and Schools 11 Developing Partnerships 12 What is a Partnership? 14 Characteristics ofEffective Partnerships 15 Support and Sustainability 16 Synthesis 17 SECTION III The Orchestra Education Project 21 Purpose 21 Gathering Data 21 Validating Data 22 Survey Findings 22 Reflections on Survey Findings and Telephone Interviews 23 Selection ofPrograms for Site Visits 24 SECTION IV Orchestra Partnership Profiles 27 Organization ofthe Profiles 27 Pacific Symphony Orchestra 29 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 37 Boston Symphony Orchestra 47 Ft. Wayne Philharmonic 57 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra 65 Chicago Symphony Orchestra 73 Cedar Rapids Symphony 79 New York Philharmonic 83 Austin Symphony Orchestra 91 Beyond \ ^, uj, '•l.^^W1W>V*>nMn«fti-r.rip;M1/W., ... Jl*» W ftjfe >ki>rW/>iVyMi!/trftf, n"rJX>JWjWll^raV™'0 i 111 nr^rrnrni ?^yK/rriii:fW,'','Vi**ivr-v:'i'''.rf IMP! aft. nf'-^"'^^ r SECTION I Introduction: Moving Beyond Tradition g^Mg Introducti SECTION I Introduction: Moving Beyond Tradition A Partnership Approach to Orchestra Education Programs School improvement efforts over the last decade and most cases, these partnerships represent a combination of a halfdemonstrate that community-wide sharing of concern for the presence and quality ofmusic education agendas and resources holds significant promise for in schools and the orchestra's interest in expanding its education. Should symphony orchestras be part ofthis audience. In addition, they reflect a belief that orchestras, attempt to improve our nation's schools? Orchestras like other organizations and institutions, should forge themselves have to rely on broad community support to integral connections that apply their unique resources to sustain their own activities. Yet, orchestras also possess meeting the needs ofthe communities in which they important resources and expertise that can help to enrich reside. school programs. Forming stronger alliances with communities through involvement in schools may help orches- Partnerships generally arise because two or more institu- tras meet some oftheir current challenges. Education tions or organizations share common concerns. Some of initiatives may be one avenue ofbreaking down percep- the concerns that orchestras, schools, and communities tions ofelitism and irrelevance, and offostering ex- share include: panded enthusiasm for orchestral music performance among diverse segments ofsociety. • Enhancing available music education opportunities and resources The traditional connection between orchestras and schools is the youth concert. Once widely viewed as an • Enriching the quality ofmusic learning in schools audience development tool, youth concerts have brought through direct and meaningful interchange with thousands ofchildren to performance halls to hear live professional musicians orchestral music and to learn something about instru- ments, composers, and the music being performed. Many • Connecting orchestras more closely with school and orchestras have generated creative strategies to enhance community life the appeal and impact ofyouth concerts. Some provide classroom materials to prepare students for the concerts. • Broadening the base ofsupport for the contributions Some orchestras perform on local school campuses, or use ofmusic to cross-curricular learning and school small ensembles to offer programs that encourage environments interaction between students and musicians. • Developing diverse audiences for symphony orchestras Despite the values associated with these efforts, there is longstanding disagreement as to whether periodic music • Sustaining a pool ofqualified musicians and in- performance events have a significant impact on learning formed audiences or audience development. In an attempt to exert more sustained influence on music education, some orchestras • Creatively maintaining appreciation and support are moving beyond earlier traditions to establish ongoing for the role ofsymphony orchestras in contemporary relationships with schools. The motivations vary, but, in society Beyond As orchestras, schools, and communities work together Based on the literature review and survey responses, the on behalfofmusic education, various partnership models project staffconducted an extensive series oftelephone may emerge. Simple affiliations may allow orchestras to interviews to determine those programs that represented support music education by providing youth concerts and the most fully developed partnerships. As a result ofthese in-school ensembles, and to work cooperativly with interviews, nine orchestra education partnerships were schools to sustain these programs. In other communities, selected for site visits. coalitions may evolve in which each partner assumes responsibility for given tasks, such as scheduling or Following the two-day site visits, the project staff materials preparation, and the partners communicate prepared an in-depth report describing each partnership. periodically to make sure the tasks are accomplished. In These nine case studies demonstrate that effective still other communities, collaborations - the most complex partnership principles may be uniquely applied in type ofpartnership - may emerge. In contrast to affilia- differing community and orchestra contexts. Though tions and coalitions, collaborations involve extensive each partnership achieves a level ofongoing and system- working out ofa relationship among partners, with atic relationship among the orchestra, local schools, and commitments to mutual goal setting, program develop- the community, each also represents individuality with ment, and evaluation. regard to areas such as program concept, planning and administration, and implemented activities. A Study of Partnerships Among Orchestras, Schools, and Communities Organization of the Report In April of 1995, the National Endowment for the Arts Beyond Tradition: Partnerships Among Orchestras, Schools, awarded Georgia State University a grant to research and Communities is organized into seven sections. Follow- existing orchestra education partnerships and to derive ing the Introduction, Section II reports on the review of principles that could be helpful in establishing effective literature regarding partnerships and effective principles programs. The grant called for the identification ofmodel of implementation. Section III outlines the research partnerships that included teacher training, parent method and gives results ofthe survey and telephone involvement, and administrative support from schools interviews. Section IV includes the case study reports for V and orchestras. Case studies of these partnerships were the nine orchestras that received site visits. Section intended to reveal approaches that would be useful in presents principles oforchestra education partnerships other settings, including strategies for curriculum devel- derived from the case studies, along with challenges and opment, musician training, student assessment, and strategies associated with each principle. Section VI program evaluation. suggests some considerations for the future oforchestra education partnerships. Section VII lists information on The study began with identification ofpartnerships the orchestras visited, related resources, and selected through various professional organizations, internet references used in the preparation ofthe report. groups, and a survey ofpublished journals and reports. At the same time, a survey was developed for the member- ship ofthe American Symphony Orchestra League. The survey requested information about each orchestra's K-12 education programs, an indication ofany partnerships in which the orchestras participated, and a description of unique features oftheir partnership programs. From August through October of 1995, the project director conducted meetings in four regions ofthe country and presented sessions for a national meeting oforchestra education directors in Washington, DC. These meetings provided updates on the project and permitted partici- pants to share their ideas regarding information that would help them to develop effective partnership programs. The project staffalso undertook an extensive review ofresearch and practice relating to partnerships in general, education partnerships, and arts education programs that used a partnership approach. This information was used to define parameters ofpartnerships and to create a framework for later telephone interviews and site visits.