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Showing posts from April, 2016

HEAR Initiative Makes the Philadelphia Orchestra Look Like a Do-Gooding Think Tank, and That's Awesome

More and more, orchestras in the United States are investing in non-traditional, community-based programs  that are not only helping to re-establish themselves as part of the civic fabric but are also broadening the notion of what constitutes an orchestra musician. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Orchestra became the latest and most prominent American orchestra to take this step when it announced i ts HEAR initiative . It's cutesy acronym that stands for Health, Education, Access, Research , but is looks like the work behind it is anything but frivolous. An example of a HEAR project is the orchestra's partnership with the Temple University Arts and Quality of Life Research Cente r and the Broad Street Ministry.  After receiving music therapy training, orchestra musicians perform together with ministry guests, who include victims of homelessness and abuse. Temple University researchers then observe these performances to determine, as the ministry website puts it , "