American Composers Orchestra
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Coming to America: Immigrant Sounds/Immigrant Voices |
Project Description
Coming to America: Immigrant Sounds/Immigrant Voices linked the symphonic work of immigrant composers to questions central to immigration and the formative process of American identity. The project spanned ACO's 2000-2001 season and included Carnegie Hall concerts, chamber music concerts at community and cultural locations including New-York Historical Society and Japan Society, Hostos Community College in the Bronx, St. Rita's Center for Refugees, and The Henry Street Settlement on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The project also included school-based programs in partner schools identified by ACO, including High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan, and the Newcomers High School in Queens. In order to engage audience-participants in dialogue about immigration issues, ACO engaged a dialogue specialist to help plan and execute the project, with particular emphasis on introducing dialogue techniques to adapt pre- and post-concert talks, in-school activities, and presentations within partner institutions. Coming to America investigated opportunities to apply arts-based civic dialogue principles to orchestra education and outreach programs and contribute to the knowledge and practice of arts-based civic dialogue in the concert music field.
