Musical Memories
a guided one-hour string and organ concert that takes the listener through a variety of musical pieces, art, and movement, and culminates in a public art installation at the Penn Memory Center. This very special concert is a year-long project with the Penn Memory Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the Curtis Institute of Music.
OUR STORY
In the summer of 2023, Micah and I thought it would be fun to play around with the idea of a string and organ concert. But not just any string and organ concert - we envisioned a concert space that not only presented beautiful music, but invited the audience to be part of the experience. We wanted a concert experience that was not only beautiful, but meaningful, and drew upon the creative minds of audience members and participants, and gave audience members an opportunity to interact with the music.
In the fall of 2023, I began my position with the Penn Memory Center as Teaching Artist for Creative Expressions for Music. This class was intended for patients with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, with the intent of providing meaningful and fun musical experiences that allow participants to explore their own creativity through instruments, movement, stories, and artwork.
In a typical week, my lesson plans center around a different aspect of music each week — such as improvisation, drumming, collaborative story writing and drawing, and setting poems to music. We also have musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music perform and present an interactive activity. This is a wonderful reciprocal relationship that provides students with early exposure to community engagement, while the Penn Memory community enjoys hearing music from young talents.
As the year progressed, we realized the Penn Memory class was the perfect collaborator we were looking for — a community that was willing to explore music with creativity, enthusiasm, and willingness. Thus Musical Memories was born.
SYNOPSIS
Part One: Exploration
Audience members often go to classical musical concerts to hear music -- but in this concert, they get to be part of the music, too. We'll begin with music by Pauline Oliveros (come ready to hum, sing, or listen), and then the special commission by Maya Miro Johnson. Over this past semester, this work has evolved to include texts written by the Penn Memory participants, organ, vocals provided by our mezzo soprano/conductor Micah, theremin, interactive strings, and movement directed by our Penn Memory participants.
Part Two: Guided listening
The center of the concert features works five works for strings, harp, and organ, that guide the listener through a realm of emotions and feelings. During the center of this concert, we invite listeners to move about the space and explore their own memories. What kind of thoughts come up in a guided musical listening? Audience members are given colored strips of paper to write, draw, or scribble down their memories or dedications during the concert. These artistic offerings will be combined to in our third portion of the concert.
Part Three: Culmination
The final section features the Hanson Organ Concerto No. 3 for organ, strings, and harp -- the crowning end to this musical experience. During this beautiful 17-minute work, these colored strips of paper will be woven together to create a paper chain wall tapestry. This collaborative art will be on display as a public art installation at the Penn Memory Center for all to enjoy in the years to come. We're really excited to see what the community will be able to put together during this time, and so excited for your participation!