Blog

In addition to my role at the PRJC, I serve as the Music Director of a summer music program for high school wind, brass, and percussion students. In the May 11th (Shifting the Paradigm: Reflections on Contingency Planning)  and August 24th (Follow Up: From Program Pivot to Program Creation) SoundBits, I shared lessons learned and […]

The Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research is proud to announce five new projects that have been awarded funding through the PRJC Grant Program. The grant committee received a wealth of excellent proposals for innovative projects and researching surrounding the Center’s focus on anti-racism work in the musical arts ecosystem and the achievement of […]

A common thread of the last eight months has been the opportunity for new and unique collaborations. While the damage to our profession from physical isolation is still unknown, what was lost has also spurred innovative and compelling work. From a virtual opera created by a team of fifty across four continents, to the New […]

Since March, Opera news has focused primarily on what has been lost. Most notably, on September 23, 2020, the Metropolitan Opera announced the cancellation of its entire 2020-21 in-person season, a crippling blow to the musicians of the company and Opera community as a whole. While live, in-person Opera may be on-hold in the short-term, […]

As arts organizations, large and small, work to navigate the adversity, uncertainty, and complexities of our new arts ecosystem, the necessity of compelling arts-leadership has been thrust front and center. What is fascinating about the current climate is the all-encompassing nature of the challenge/opportunity—leaders must possess both the “hard” and “soft” skills necessary to successfully […]

The New York Philharmonic’s pick-up truck concert series is just one of a number of innovative programming and performance initiatives the organization is launching this fall. With the recent launch of Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, the organization continues to use the shuddering of its traditional performance space to integrate itself into the fabric of the City.  […]

Applications for the Paul R. Judy Center Grant Program are due by 11:59pm on October 1, 2020. As we approach the deadline for the October 1 grant cycle, below are a few resources to assist with developing a compelling proposal. 12 Quick Tips for Better Grant Writing by Jay Wilkinson How to Write a Music […]

In our SoundBit last week, we highlighted how Yo-Yo Ma and a team of community organizers collaborated to produce pop-up concerts for essential workers in Western Massachusetts. This innovative work was a realization of one of the overarching themes from this past summer’s Virtual Visionaries collaboration with the University of Michigan’s Excel Lab. Shortly after […]

This past summer, a common tone of the Virtual Visionaries Series, a collaborative project between the University of Michigan EXCEL Lab, the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership, and a cohort of seven co-sponsors was that out of adversity comes innovation. Each week of the series featured guest artists sharing insight into how they were reacting […]

September is typically the month when symphony orchestras across the country embark on a new season of performances. The ongoing threat and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to limit how orchestras can engage their audiences. Announcements by symphony orchestras in the the last week have highlighted the wide spectrum of ways that arts […]