Atlanta Symphony’s Community Engagement Programs

Over the past 11 years The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has conducted and built an extensive education and community engagement (CE) program. The effort was started jointly by Allison Vulgamore, the ASO’s President and Managing Director, and a group of ASO musicians and board members. Originally named “Partners in Performance,” the offerings were centered around three major program areas: Young Classical Musicians, which provided in-school coaching and performance to area middle and high school ensembles; Neighborhood & Community Partnerships, which created community chamber concert series around the city, and Community Service Partnerships, which partnered the ASO with the United Way and Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. Originally, these programs were all run by musicians and volunteers, however in the mid 90s, staff were added to the operations department of the ASO to help support and eventually manage the programs.

Beginning with the 2006-2007 season, the management community engagement activities were moved into the newly-established Learning Community. The ASO Learning Community holds all of the CE and educational programming the ASO conducts under the idea that all of our educational activities involve the community, and all of our community programming is educational in some way. We operate on the concept of “asset-based collaboration.” Each party in the partnership brings all of their assets to the table, and then we work together to create something authentic and unique that truly serves the needs of both the community and the orchestra. There are three shining examples of where this principle has proven both real and effective.

The first of these partnerships is our work with the Latin American Association (LAA) here in Atlanta. The LAA was founded in 1972, and is now the largest provider of services to the Latino community in metro Atlanta (www.latinamericanassoc.org). We had a mandate from the community that we should become more closely connected with the burgeoning Latino community in the city. The LAA provided access to this community, while the LAA was interested in many of the symphony’s resources. As a result, several programs have been created over the past two years, the first being the ASO-LAA After-school Violin Program. This program provides free weekly violin lessons, and free loaned instruments, to children of LAA members.

We also have created a community concert series that is designed and conducted by an ASO player who is also a member of the LAA. Our players get to perform chamber music that is different, fun and challenging, while providing programming that is instantly familiar and accessible to a constituency that are currently not regular concert goers. For example, last season we had one concert focused on the music and culture of Mexico. An ensemble of nine ASO musicians played an original work based on traditional Mexican songs, rhythms, and folk traditions. The concert concluded with the ASO musicians and a full 9-musician Mariachi band playing traditional Mexican songs together. In addition, the entire program was conducted in Spanish, and included a performance by the students in the After-school Violin Program. We are also currently working to put together a possible concert series and incentives to help bring the members of the LAA into Atlanta Symphony Hall.

Our community work extends to the students in our training programs. The Talent Development Program (TDP) of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra identifies and supports talented young African American and Latino students who desire to pursue careers as classical musicians.The TDP prepares students for conservatory, college or university-level study by providing instruction, mentoring, performance opportunities, and complimentary admission to ASO concerts. The Azira G. Hill Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to those TDP students attending summer music training programs. TDP supports 25 students a year, who are chosen through a very competitive two-round audition process. Students are eligible for the program beginning in 4^th grade, and once admitted remain in the program through their high school graduation. Openings in the program each year depend on the number of graduating seniors. ASO musicians are paid for the lessons they teach through the program’s extensive budget and fundraising efforts.

During the year, the students of the TDP play many community concerts, and are now branching out into other ways of working with the community. In response to what we perceive to be a rapidly-growing trend in the industry, we are now requiring that our TDP students perform 10 hours of community engagement a year as part of their training. To help prepare students for these events, we have created a community engagement course to teach students fundamentals, such as speaking from the stage, how to craft programs for various audiences, and how to present themselves to different age groups and constituencies. This course is planned and taught by ASO Learning Community Staff.

Another great example is the work we are currently doing with the North Fulton County community. North Fulton County is a large area north of Atlanta that includes several cities, primarily the city of Alpharetta. Recently we discovered through a market research study that this area is one of our most underserved, simply due to geography. In May of 2008 we are opening the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, a 12,000 seat partially-covered amphitheatre. Naturally, we wanted to become more involved with that community and, after conversations with community leaders, it was clear that the community was very interested in being more involved with the symphony. As a result, several leaders from the area (business leaders, elected officials, school system administrators) were invited to collectively imagine what the ASO’s presence in N. Fulton would be. Over a period of time, the leadership team decided upon a series of events based on activities that ASO musicians already do (e.g., chamber concerts, in-school coaching sessions) that truly reflected what the community wanted.

This has resulted in some really inventive programming. The ASO is performing at museums connected with the school system, at a variety of community centers and churches, and we have expanded our existing library concert series to include several additional branches in the Alpharetta area. Right now I am most excited about a performance at a local alternative school. The leadership group mentioned that the student body at this school was very artistic, but did not currently have a traditional music instruction program. However, many of the students play non-classical instruments and perform in a variety of ensembles of their own making. The end result is a concert to be held in November. The first half of the concert is made up entirely of student performers. The second half of the concert will be a performance by the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet. The Brass Quintet is working with ASO Learning Community staff and the administration at the school to craft a program that will fit well with the almost “rock concert” vibe of the event with the students.

One thing we have learned over the last 10 years of community engagement activities is that Atlanta’s population is diverse in more ways than you can count. As a result, having pre-packaged offerings just won’t work in our city. By working with our community partners, we are able to create programming that is unique and relevant. Also, we are able to ensure that our musicians are given opportunities to perform in ways that are comfortable to them. Through our community programming we are hoping to build relationships that will last and mature over time, ultimately helping the symphony become a neighbor to the citizens of Atlanta in more ways than simple geographic location.