About
What happens when you bring together college students, high school students, middle school students, students with special needs, children living in the slums of Tijuana, refugees, audio engineers, video technicians, and composers from around the world? On January 25-27, 2018 these groups of people came together to create innovative new music, share their talents and life stories, and build meaningful connections.
The “Building Bridges through Music” festival involved the ASU Wind Orchestra, ASU Wind Ensemble, and ASU Philharmonia ensembles. Guest students from Phoenix’s El Sistema-styled Harmony Project and the Niños de La Guadalupana Via Del Campo worked together with ASU students of music and other disciplines on an innovative programming idea: the integration of multi-generational and multi-cultural musicians through the performance of twenty-five mixed ability level concertos commissioned specifically for this event. Audio engineer Nathan James and a local video technician led interactive sessions with the students and produced professional recordings, and ASU film students provided video footage of the event.
The project was lead by Melanie Brooks (DMA candidate in Wind Conducting) in collaboration with Professor Gary Hill (ASU Wind Orchestra), and Dr. Jason Caslor (ASU Wind Ensemble and Philharmonia), Diogo Periera (Harmony Project Phoenix), Ron Wakefield (Niños de La Guadalupana Via Del Campo), and Lisa McKim-Hill (the Brophy School).
The “Building Bridges through Music” festival served to connect people of all ages from different communities in Phoenix and across the world. The event included musical and social activities including presentations, group discussions, performances, and a professional recording session of new and innovative music for school-aged students called the “Concertos for Young Soloists” project.
All participants attended a live concert and participated in group discussions, team-building activities, and master classes throughout the day. Ron Wakefield led storytelling sessions about music for community outreach, social justice, and music with life purpose.
The “Building Bridges through Music” festival involved the ASU Wind Orchestra, ASU Wind Ensemble, and ASU Philharmonia ensembles. Guest students from Phoenix’s El Sistema-styled Harmony Project and the Niños de La Guadalupana Via Del Campo worked together with ASU students of music and other disciplines on an innovative programming idea: the integration of multi-generational and multi-cultural musicians through the performance of twenty-five mixed ability level concertos commissioned specifically for this event. Audio engineer Nathan James and a local video technician led interactive sessions with the students and produced professional recordings, and ASU film students provided video footage of the event.
The project was lead by Melanie Brooks (DMA candidate in Wind Conducting) in collaboration with Professor Gary Hill (ASU Wind Orchestra), and Dr. Jason Caslor (ASU Wind Ensemble and Philharmonia), Diogo Periera (Harmony Project Phoenix), Ron Wakefield (Niños de La Guadalupana Via Del Campo), and Lisa McKim-Hill (the Brophy School).
The “Building Bridges through Music” festival served to connect people of all ages from different communities in Phoenix and across the world. The event included musical and social activities including presentations, group discussions, performances, and a professional recording session of new and innovative music for school-aged students called the “Concertos for Young Soloists” project.
All participants attended a live concert and participated in group discussions, team-building activities, and master classes throughout the day. Ron Wakefield led storytelling sessions about music for community outreach, social justice, and music with life purpose.
Why "Building Bridges"?
The aim of “Building Bridges” is to reach beyond a single festival; it is an event for long-term community building and scientific and artistic exploration. It is a model for future community engagement projects at ASU and beyond. Through a collaborative musical and social experience that combines different ages, levels of education, race, and socioeconomic background, we hope to break down barriers and build meaningful relationships.
Finally, the project hopes to continue a tradition of collaboration between ASU, the Harmony Project Phoenix, and United Sound. We hope that these relationships inspire and encourage the young students to follow their musical, educational, and social dreams.
Finally, the project hopes to continue a tradition of collaboration between ASU, the Harmony Project Phoenix, and United Sound. We hope that these relationships inspire and encourage the young students to follow their musical, educational, and social dreams.