NEC Outreach Programs Reach Thousands
Jessica Bodner of the Parker Quartet
Under the direction of Tanya Maggi, New England Conservatory’s Performance Outreach program has become an integral part of life at NEC and the community surrounding it. The number of students wanting to take part in the program has continued to grow and program partners continue to rave about the quality and variety of musical events brought to them. So for example, the prize-winning, world-traveling Parker String Quartet (violist Jessica Bodner shown in photo)has performed at Boston's Hurly Elementary School.
In the 2006-07 school year, approximately 205 NEC students performed 325 programs and events in the community. These activities reached over 15,800 people, of which 7500 were school children. NEC maintained over 100 partnerships with schools, senior centers, community centers, hospitals, libraries, museums, and other historic landmarks.
Among the community series NEC participates in are those at Old South Meeting House (which presents a showcase for Artist Diploma students), the Boston Athenaeum, Gore Place, Emmanuel Church,the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston Children’s Museum, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The Performance Outreach department also supplies musicians for the annual Opening Our Doors Day sponsored by the various educational and arts organizations of the Fenway Alliance.
NEC has established a well-organized roster of senior centers/ assisted living facilities and nursing homes where students regularly perform. These include North Hill Retirement (Needham), Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association, Susan S. Bailis Assisted Living (South End), Cadbury Commons Assisted Living (Cambridge), Mount Pleasant Home (Jamaica Plain), Greater Boston Aid to the Blind (W. Roxbury), Peterborough Senior Center (Fenway), and Hale House (Back Bay).
In addition, Performance Outreach has ongoing partnerships with numerous schools in Boston and surrounding areas. Student musicians travel as far as Rockport and Cape Cod, Peabody and Winthrop to work with children, although most programs are in the Boston Public School district. These programs can take the form of mini-residencies or periodic visits throughout the year.
Besides arranging for students to play music, Performance Outreach trains young musicians to appear before non-traditional audiences. They are shown how to prepare appropriate programs and how to talk to listeners.
Although not all Performance Outreach events are open to the public, there are several each month during the academic year to which all listeners are invited. Check back in September for a schedule of events open to the public.
For more information, please contact Tanya Maggi, Director of Performance Outreach at (617) 585-1243 or email her.