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EarShot: Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Professional Development in Education and Community Development
for Participant Composers
March 1-4, 2019 (Detroit, MI)
The Professional Development component of this residency will focus on building skills in Education and Community Engagement.
Participant Composers will receive hands-on training, through collaboration with DSO Teaching Artists, guest composer Jessie Montgomery, and ACO Education Director Kevin James, to present composition basics to students in local public schools.
From Friday evening through Monday morning (March 1-4) of the Earshot residency, Participant Composers will take part in training sessions and workshops exploring the basics of student engagement. Through these workshops they will learn how to design age-appropriate programming that introduces contemporary orchestral music to student audiences.
Participant Composers will each be placed into a working group consisting of a professional Teaching Artist, a university level student composer, and an advanced high school level student chamber ensemble.
With this working group, all Participant Composers, will learn the process and skills necessary for preparing and delivering a program which introduces composers and new music (specifically you and yours) to school-aged children. Together, under the lead of a DSO Teaching Artist, your working group will present that program to students in nearby Detroit public schools.
Prior to arrival in Detroit, participating composers will be required to:
- take part in a Skype session of not more than 1 hour with ACO Education Director, Kevin James, and possibly DSO Teaching Artists
- participate in the choice of a short selection(s) from their piece, and the adaptation of that material for the student ensemble – they may be asked to re-orchestrate that selection for an advanced high school chamber ensemble.
Note: To allow the participating composers to have the best possible experience, the education activities at the Detroit Earshot will be completed prior to the onset of activities related to the reading of their works by the orchestra or their engagement with the mentor composers.
These professional development activities will be led and facilitated by guest composer, Jessie Montgomery and ACO Education Director, Kevin James.