Music for Food Press Kit

Revised 1 September 2017

Press Contact

Cashman Kerr Prince, General Manager

cprince@musicforfood.net +1.857.269.5587

Music to the Ears

Food to the Table

P. O. Box 590561, Newton, Massachusetts 02459 | +1.857.269.5587 | mff@musicforfood.net | www.musicforfood.net

Who We AreMusic for Food is a musician-led initiative to fight hunger in our local com-munities. At our concerts we transform music into food, nourishing ears and bodies. Now embarking on its 8th season in Boston, Music for Food was founded by Grammy award winning violist Kim Kashkashian in 2010. Based in Boston, we are a federally-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit with chapters in 10 U.S. cities. Musicians volunteer their time and talent and 100% of all donations go to benefit local pantries and shelters. We have over 150 artists collaborating with us and we have provided more than 450,000 meals to those in need, with concerts in Boston, California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, D. C., Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Our fellowship program teaches student musicians how to address social problems in their communi-ties through music. We provide a replicable model for musicians nationwide who wish to take action in their own communities in the fight against hunger.

www.musicforfood.net/musicforfood

Music for Food

@Music__for_Foodmusicforfoodpicsmusicforfoodvideos

BeginningsMusic for Food came alive during a meal, of course! A friendly gathering of colleagues from New England Conservatory met to enjoy good conversation and a meal. Soon we were talking about our wonderful students and the need to give them a model for social action and engagement to balance all their isolated hours of practice.We spoke about Carol Rodland’s “If Music Be the Food…” This inspired us to begin a concert series with three goals. We want to guide student and professional musicians towards making a difference in the community. We give audience members an active role as supporters of a food pantry. And of course, we help provide food to those in need.

Artistic DirectorsAriel QuartetJonathan BissNatasha BrofskyLydia BrownGwen Coleman DetwilerKaren DreyfusKim KashkashianCatherine KautskyDimitri MurrathSharon RobinsonIan SwensenWillem van Eeghen

General ManagerCashman Kerr Prince

eBoard of DirectorsChristine ArveilMiriam FriedArlene HajinlianKim KashkashianLaurence LesserChristopher ReuningArnold SteinhardtThomas StoneWillem Van Eeghen

Advisory BoardLeon FleisherAra Guzelimian

Here is what we discovered. The audience felt the vitality of active giving, and took this responsibility to heart. The musicians felt a strong and positive sense of empowerment—as musicians and in their lives. The food pantries we sup-ported were doing wonderful things with our help (such as buying a refrigerator - so that they could better supply fresh foods). We all grow better and stronger.This is how we began and why we do what we do.

CONTENTS

“THE MAGIC OF MUSIC”

OUR ACTIVITIES

ABOUT MUSIC FOR FOOD

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

OUR EASY MODEL FOR TRANSFORMING MUSIC INTO FOOD

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM & EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

SELECT PRESS “THE MELODY OF NOURISHMENT” “MUSIC AND THE CULTURE OF DEMOCRACY”

Winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo Album for her recording “Kurtág/Ligeti Music for Viola,” Kim Kashkashian is recognized internationally as a unique voice on the viola. In 2014, Kashkashian was awarded the George Peabody Medal for outstanding contributions to music in America, as well as the prestigious Golden Bow award of Switzerland. She lives in Boston, where she coaches chamber music and viola at New Eng-land Conservatory.

The Magic of Music By Kim Kashkashian “Without music there can’t be any dreams, and without dreams there can’t be any fairy tales, and without fairy tales there can’t be any courage, and without courage no one would be able to bear any sorrows.” - Fredrick Bachman, from ‘My Grandmother asked Me’

Musicians grow into their full potential by working towards technical and physical mastery of their instrument or voice. Once we spend countless hours alone in a practice room, we may then have the freedom and means to express our imaginative, artistic vision. An entire life can be spent refining these skills and honing our fantasy. But when our efforts revolve only in this circle of practice, practice, practice, we are missing a most important component - the audience! Only our listeners complete the circle and give our work its ultimate meaning and potency.

To embrace the world around us; to be exquisitely aware of the context in which we live and work - this is vital to our well-being and to the integrity of our artistic choices as well. No artists can work in a vacuum, but must be part of the larger community surrounding us. We are citizens. This is our context. This is our audience, these are the people we meet and touch through our music.

We see increasingly that in the U.S. that broader context includes many people our society has failed. Often, the basic needs of shelter and nutrition are not met, and the pursuit of happiness, education and culture only can be approached after these basic needs are ensured. The ways in which music moves us, regardless of musical genre, shows just how important it is.

As musicians, then, each of us must search for a way to make a positive contribution. We know the power of artistic expression, and we know that music is essential to life, growth and our well-being, but do we really know how to share this gift of music? The major concert halls provide one such model, yet developing alternate models is vital.

Young artists take music to shelters and prisons, hospitals and farmer’s markets. We are working to re-integrate music into the lives of everyday people. We hear “classical music is dead” repeatedly, but if you look around you will see it is alive and well, integral to the lives of more and more people, and popping up everywhere!

Music for Food, of which I am artistic coordinator, is such a new model for sharing music. We began in Boston seven years ago, and now have chapters in New York City, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago and LA! Our goal is to turn the ineffable beauty of music into the concrete nourishment of food needed by one in seven Americans.

Our musicians volunteer their talents and energy, our audiences respond by donating food to local pantries serving the community, and paths are woven together in new ways.

Music for Food is inclusive: musicians anywhere can create MFF events and help build trust and communication between an actively responding audience and the community. We come together as musicians and as concerned citizens and use the technical mastery we have to address a large problem in our community. We address our whole context and use what we know to make the world a better place.

At New England Conservatory, our students carry on the artistic and serviceoriented principles embodied in Music for Food by visiting food pantry sites with their instruments, talking with and playing for the clients, and sharing in the joy of music. It empowers musicians to see the immediate impact music can have on people’s lives, and it brings some of the artistic and cultural nourishment we all need to those our society has failed. Music gives power to life! And Music for Food is one way to return dreams and courage to the lives of those who have lost it.

About Kim Kashkashian A staunch proponent of contemporary music, Kashkashian has developed creative relationships with György Kurtág, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Giya Kancheli and Arvo Pärt and premiered commissioned works by Peter Eötvös, Betty Olivero, Ken Ueno, Thomas Larcher, Lera Auerbach and Tigran Mansurian. She has ongoing duo partnerships with pianist Robert Levin, percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky, and the trio Tre Voce.

As soloist, Kashkashian has appeared with the orchestras of Berlin, London, Vienna, Milan, New York and Cleveland in collaboration with Eschenbach, Mehta, Welser-Moest, Kocsis, Dennis Russel Davies Blomstedt Robertson and Holliger. Recital appearances include the great halls of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Athens and Tokyo. Her association with the prestigious ECM label since 1985 has resulted in a rich discography which includes the complete sonatas of Hindemith and Brahms, an album of Argentinian songs, the concertos of Schnittke, Bartók, Penderecki and Kurtág, as well as the Bach viola da gamba sonatas, recorded with Keith Jarrett. Kashkashian is a founding member of Music for Food, an initiative by musicians to fight hunger in their home communities. To learn more, visit musicforfoodboston.org.

Photo credit: Claire Stefani

Music to the Ears

Food to the Table

P. O. Box 590561, Newton, Massachusetts 02459 | +1.857.269.5587 | mff@musicforfood.net | www.musicforfood.net

Our Activites Core Concerts

At the heart of Music for Food is our core concert series—concerts we present ourselves. This how we began in Boston in 2010 and have grown to other cities. Musicians volunteer, space is donated, and in lieu of tickets we collect suggested donations to support a local food pantry.

ChaptersMusic for Food now has an on-the-ground presence in 10 U. S. cities. Each of these chapters has a local Artistic Director, presents 3 or more concerts each year, and oversees related activity in their area. This enables more mu-sicians to feed more hungry people, nationwide.

Collaborative ConcertsMusic for Food partners with musicians and organizations. We do not present these concerts ourselves but they subscribe to our model. Music for Food collects tax-deductible contributions, issues tax rceipts, and insures that 100% of donations are transformed into food to feed those in need.

Fellowship ProgramBeginning in 2014 in Boston, Music for Food took on young professional musicians as ambassadors. Over one academic year, these musicians learn about our model and effec-tive ways to use music for social justice, visit local K-12 schools to perform and talk about Music for Food, assist with our core concerts, and put on their own concert in support of a local pantry. As they move and grow, so too does Music for Food, increasing our impact and further alleviating hunger through artistry.

Educational OutreachIn collaboration with New England Conservatory, chamber music students perform at Women’s Lunch Place, seeing the face of hunger and the power of music to nourish. Stu-dents receive performance credit and clients hear live music while their lunch is prepared.

Nourishing NeighborsMusic for Food is supported through a private foundation grant and through the generosi-ty of various donors—our nourishing neighbors—who support Music for Food and arts for social change.

Artistic DirectorsAriel QuartetJonathan BissNatasha BrofskyLydia BrownGwen Coleman DetwilerKaren DreyfusKim KashkashianCatherine KautskyDimitri MurrathSharon RobinsonIan SwensenWillem van Eeghen

General ManagerCashman Kerr Prince

eBoard of DirectorsChristine ArveilMiriam FriedArlene HajinlianKim KashkashianLaurence LesserChristopher ReuningArnold SteinhardtThomas StoneWillem Van Eeghen

Advisory BoardLeon FleisherAra Guzelimian

OUR MISSION

OUR STORY

GOALS

GUIDELINES

We believe both music and food are essential to human life and growth. Music has the power to call forth the best in us, inspiring awareness and action when artists and audiences work together to transform the ineffable into tangible and needed food resources.

Music for Food is a musician-led initiative for local hunger relief. Our concerts raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger, empowering all musicians who wish to use their artistry to further social justice.

Music for Food came into existence during dinner with friends and colleagues. We spoke about the need to use our training and talents to serve our community. We felt that a concert series with a focus on fighting hunger here at home would serve artists, audiences, and more importantly, those in need.

Feeding America tells us that every county in the United States experiences some degree of food insecurity. The absence of proper nutrition fuels a vicious cycle in which health and the ability to learn are compromised, the effects of which are crip-pling on local communities. Therefore, we feel compelled to take what we have started in Boston and create a network capable of reaching out to food pantries nationwide by becoming an established model that empowers musicians all over the country to take action in their own communities. --Kim Kashkashian, Artistic Director/Founder

v Currently embarking on its 8th season in Boston, Music for Food has created over 450,000 meals through donations made at concerts on behalf of more than a dozen hunger-relief organiza-tions.v More than 130 artists and ensembles have performed on Music for Food concerts interna-tionally.v Music for Food is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has chapters in 10 U. S. cities as well as a growing interna-tional presence.

v Fundraising: By attending our concerts, listeners contribute to the alleviation of hunger, becoming active and responsible partners in our mission.v Advocacy: We pass on awareness of the serious nature of hunger at home.v Community Engagement: We empower musicians to use their talents to actively serve a social need, using concerts to transform the ineffable into tangible and needed food resources in their home communities.

Music for Food fosters a creative response to multiple cultural and societal issues:

All Music for Food concerts are defined by two principles:Musicians volunteer their talent and energy. 100% of audience donations go to

a local hunger relief organization.

ABOUT

GETTING INVOLVED

MENTORSHIP

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

Artists

Fellowship

Arts Organizations & Presenters

Academic Partnerships

v An artist plays a benefit concert for a local pantry, sharing the gift of music and inspiring the gift of food. Concerts are designed to be intimate events, proactively informing audiences about the serious need for hunger relief in their community.

v Fellows are selected on the basis of artistic merit and a demonstrated commitment to civic engage-ment through music. The training they receive during their nine-month residency enables them to act as artist-advocates at the forefront of Music for Food’s educational and community outreach initiatives.

v An individual artist or ensemble works with a presenter to designate a performance as a MFF event, and donates their fee to a local food pantry.v An arts presenter or organization chooses a local pantry and sets up a Music for Food donation option: v Encourage audience donations to a local pantry. v Donate a portion of ticket sales. v Match the amount donated by the artist or audience.

v Academic Partnerships offer college and conserva-tory students a chance to work alongside artist-faculty to organize and perform benefit concerts for local hunger relief efforts.

Music for Food encourages high school and middle school music students to use their artistry to further social justice. Fellows and young artists mentor students as they learn about the issues of hunger, food insecurity, and how their concerts can make a difference in their communities.

Board of Directors Christine Arveil

Miriam FriedArlene HajinlianKim KashkashianLaurence Lesser

Christopher ReuningArnold Steinhardt

Thomas StoneWillem Van Eeghen Advisory Board

Leon FleisherAra Guzelimian

StaffKim KashkashianArtistic Director

Cashman Kerr PrinceGeneral Manager

Music for Food , P. O. Box 590561 , Newton Centre , MA 02459 | 857 . 269 . 5587 | mff@musicforfood.net

Partnerships & Collaborations

Hunger Relief Organizations

Performing Arts Organizations

Arabic Baptist Food Pantry (Newton, MA)America’s Grow-a-RowBlessings in a BackpackBrookline Food PantryCambridge Weekend Backpack ProgramCentre Street Food PantryCommunity ServingsFood for FreeFreestore Foodbank (Cincinnati, OH)Greater Cleveland Food BankHoly Apostles Soup KitchenKylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz (Leominster, MA)Lexington Interfaith PantryManna Food CenterLos Angeles Regional Food BankNetwork of Community MinistriesNewton Food PantryRiver City Food BankRosie’s PlaceSacramento Food Bank and Family ServicesSt. Joe’s Food ProgramSt. Peter’s Food ProgramThe Greater Boston Food BankThe Women’s Lunch PlaceZola Center (Newton, MA)

A Far CryActing Singers ProjectBoston Cello SocietyBoston Philharmonic OrchestraBrookline Symphony OrchestraChamber Music InternationalCommunity Musicians Collective, Queens CollegeFrom the TopGreater Boston Asian-American YSOGroupmuseHalcyon Music FestivalLyrica Chamber MusicMistralMusic WorcesterNewton Festival of the ArtsPhiladelphia Chamber Music SocietyPianoForte FoundationSheep Island EnsembleTempo GiustoYellow Barn

Atrium School (Watertown, MA)Belmont Hill SchoolBoston ConservatoryBoston University College of Fine ArtsCincinnati College-Conservatory of MusicCleveland Institute of MusicConservatory at Highlands (Newton Highlands, MA)Harvard UniversityLawrence University ConservatoryMITNew England ConservatoryNortheastern University College of Arts, Media and DesignQueens College, Aaron Copland School of MusicSt. Paul’s Choir SchoolThe Rivers School ConservatoryUCLAUSC Thornton School of MusicWaring School (Beverly, MA)

Partnerships & Collaborations, continued

Schools

To learn how your group can get involved, visit www.musicforfood.net today!

Music for Food in partnership with

Our Model

We welcome and encourage musicians to create Music for Food events in support of a local food pantry.

Contact a local pantry to be your designated beneficiary for the concert.

¢Find a

Pantry

¢Find aVenue

Find a space for the concert - donated spaces are best.

Contact Music for Food’s office and tell us about your concert.

¢Register

Tell everyone about your concert. We’ll help.

¢Spread

the Word

A NEW MODEL: TRANSFORMING MUSIC INTO TANGIBLE NOURISHMENT — HOW EASY!

¢Collect

DonationsCollect cash, checks, and credit card donations. You can also collect food. Music for Food processes all donations and issues tax receipts.

¢Engage

YourAudience

Inform your audience about the issues of hunger and food insecurity. Share with your audience how many meals you’ve created during the concert.

Share Your Music for Food

TestimonialTell us about your event and share your Music for Food experience, in words and pictures.

Fellowship Program Music for Food uses the power of music as a catalyst to bring artists and audiences together in the fight against hunger in our home communities. Music for Food Fellows engage in educational outreach at area schools, showing students how they, too, can use artistry to fight hunger. Our aim is to empower musicians of all ages.

Our Fellows are young professional musicians who are committed to chamber music as a means to address the

How It Works: Step-By-Step1. Music for Food Fellows present an interactive performance-assembly that informs students about the issue of hunger and their ability to use music to make a difference in their community. 2. Through follow-up visits, Music for Food Fellows and staff can guide and help students as they prepare their ben-efit concert. This guidance can encompasses practical issues, such as selecting a pantry, as well as artistic mentoring through individual and ensemble coachings. 3. Students perform a benefit concert for the community-at-large. 4. Post-concert, students and teachers are asked to share their experiences with Music for Food and provide feed-back and evaluation of the program.

global problem of hunger and to strengthen local communities. They serve as ambassadors for Music for Food, sharing our work through words and music.

Fellows present an assembly at a local K-12 school, performing and talking about the mission of Music for Food. Where possible, we tie in with a school’s service learning commitment. This program results in a concert at the school featuring student musicians who raise awareness about hunger and funds to support their chosen pantry. We encourage students to bring family and community sponsors to their concert.

The Results

v Students learn about the integration of music and community service, transforming their concert into a plat-form for active civic engagement. v Students share what they have learned and raise awareness by educating those around them such as teachers, family members, and others in the community. v Donations collected provide much needed aid towards local hunger relief efforts. Every dollar translates into three meals created for those in need.

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Together we can work to overcome one of the most basic inequalities in our communities, & help ensure our neighbors can count on having healthy, nourishing meals. Join us!

mff@musicforfood.net | 857-269-5587 | P.O. Box 590561, Newton Centre, MA 02459

Through our ongoing collaboration with New England Conservatory, Music for Food brings chamber music to Women’s Lunch Place, a daytime shelter in Boston for women and children. Students learn the power of music to impact lives and bring joy. We meet the clients of Women’s Lunch Place where they are on their own journey, nourish-ing and encouraging them as they advance towards health and happiness. Maybe your students want to perform at a local shelter or food pantry? Talk to us, we are happy to help set this up! This is another facet of Music for Food bringing people together, creating stronger and more vibrant commu-nities for us all.

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What others are saying

“MFF has helped the boys at the school to understand how their music can be used to help the less fortunate, and how to share their music with a broader audience. I couldn’t recommend it strongly enough as a collaborative experience.” –John Robinson, Director of Music at St. Paul’s Choir School (Cambridge, MA)

Important Things to Remember

v Student participation is voluntary.v The program comes at no cost to the school, as it is entirely supported by the Music for Food Fellows program.v 100% of monetary proceeds directly benefit the selected food pantry, not Music for Food. v Depending on the pantry, you can collect non-perishable food items, money, or both! v Administrators and music teachers can choose to turn an existing concert into a Music for Food Benefit.

Educational Opportunities

18 March 2014

It was a quintessentially frigid winter night in Boston, and the furthest thing from my mind was going out to attend a concert. But this was not a typical Friday evening chamber soiree; this all-star

cast of classical musicians was gathered together to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank.

As I entered Newbury Street’s Em-manuel Church, I was impressed by the number of people who had come to sup-port this seemingly worthy cause, and figuratively patted myself on the back as I made my donation. I later learned it was a small price to pay for a concert that ultimately changed my life.

I can’t remember a single note played that evening. The only thing clear in my mind are the words of Kim Kashkashian as she stood before the audience: “Music opens and nourishes hearts and minds. We hope music will become a catalyst to galvanize you to pass on the gift you

receive to the many in our community to nourish their families.”

She proceeded to deliver the stagger-ing figure on the number of food-inse-cure Americans, a statistic that currently stands at 48.8 million, according to Feeding America. This means approxi-mately one of every six people don’t know where they will get the next meal.

Music for Food uses its concerts as a platform to raise money and aware-ness for local hunger relief, providing tangible aid to local pantries in the form of monetary and non-perishable food item donations as well as an education

for everybody involved about a growing struggle in their communities.

It was during a dinner of New Eng-land Conservatory colleagues that the concept of Music for Food was con-ceived. Kashkashian, a Newton resident and Grammy Award-winning violist, proposed a model for artist citizenship that manifests itself as a concert series in which artists and audiences come together to provide for one of the most basic human needs — food.

“I wanted musicians to take owner-ship of their art as a tool to fight hunger, empowering them with a vehicle for social action, and to acknowledge their audience as active, responsive partners,” said Kashkashian, who now serves as Music for Food’s artistic director.

Fast-forward nearly two years after that inspirational evening when I was first exposed to Music for Food. I was a graduate student at New England Con-servatory, finishing a master’s degree in vocal performance, but gravitating

The Melody of NourishmentAll the money earned from concerts performed by Music for Food goes to food pantries that provide people with one of the most basic human needs.

An ensemble of musicians perform before an eager audience at a Music for food concert. All the money collected at Music for Food concerts goes to food pantries. Photo courtesy of Casey Grenier

by Robert Cinnante Community contributor

19March 2014

Music for Food will present its third and final performance of the season in its Core Concert Series on Monday, March 17 at 8 p.m. in New England Conservatory’s Brown Hall. The evening will feature Piazzola’s Le Grand Tango and Argentinian songs, keeping with the season theme of Sounds of South America. There is a $20 suggested donation, with all proceeds benefiting Food for Free, a Cambridge-based hunger relief organization. For more information about this concert and Music for Food in general, visit musicforfoodboston.org or email musicforfoodinfo@gmail.com. —Robert Cinnante

Music for Food Artistic Director Kim Kashkashian (left) and Food for Free Executive Director Sasha Purpura Photo courtesy of Barbara Trachtenberg

NEXT CONCERT: MARCH 17

toward the arts management field. I found my way to a wonderful internship in the school’s Office of Institutional Advancement. But something was miss-ing. I yearned to effect change, and felt the best place for me to do this was in a small organization in which I could take on a leadership role. Recalling the moment of realization I first experienced at a Music for Food concert, I eagerly began volunteering for the organization, and today I am its general manager, a position I’ve held since August 2013

“I wanted musicians to take ownership of their art as a tool to fight hunger.”

—Kim Kashkashian

Music for Food’s Artistic Director

In getting to know Music for Food and now helping to oversee its develop-ment, I’m both amazed and humbled by its growth. What began as a worth-while project in Boston has become the impetus for Music for Food concerts nationwide, an evolution anchored by three guiding principles — all concerts presented are of the highest artistic quality; artists volunteer their time and talent; 100 percent of audience donations benefit a local pantry

Music for Food’s continued success relies on the energy and compassion of a community. Everyone has the ability to make a difference simply by coming to a concert.

Visit musicforfoodboston.org to learn more.

Audience members make donations outside New England Conservatory’s Brown Hall prior to a Music for Food concert. Photo courtesy of Casey Grenier

While its Core Concert Series is based in Boston, artists have given Music for Food concerts throughout Massachusetts — in Andover, Lexington, Newton, and Worcester as well as nationwide in California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. A concert series at Carriage House Violins in Newton is being planned for the 2014-15 season. —Robert Cinnante

This is the approximate amount of meals Music for Food has generated through monetary and food donations received at concerts. 90K

h i b u m a g a z i n e . c o m / s u r v e yTell us why.Like this story?

Discussion on Music and the Culture of DemocracyWorld-renowned violist and founder of Music for Food Kim Kashkashian spoke at Boston College’s Devlin Hall on ursday, April 21, discussing the role of music in the culture of democracy. Joining Kashkashian were poet and critic Edward Hirsch, award-winning journalist Scott Poulson-Bryant and musician and author Elijah Wald, in what was a lively and insightful conversation. e discussion was part of a series hosted at Boston College’s Clough Center, exploring “the complex relationship between the arts and democracy through thoughtful conversation among practicing artists and engaged cultural commentators.”

Hirsch spoke about the connection between poetry and song, song and democracy. In some cultures there is no distinction between poetry and song, they are one and the same, he said. Hirsch highlighted the “work song” as a way to make di1cult, repetitive activities easier, but also as a method of resistance. e “work songs” sung by slaves, were a revolution in plain site, Hirsch said.

Kashkashian began by rede2ning classical music as “composed music.” Music with an architecture, built with a purpose. “Any music, that has been put down on paper, is a composition; just like an architectural drawing or a poem,” she said. “If we think of it this way, then the question for us classical musicians becomes, how do we create a more universal access, a democratic access to composed music?” she continued. Kashkashian cited the lack of access to music programs in public schools in the US as a major issue.

One of the notions that developed over the past century is the sense of pyramid structure, Kashkashian noted. Musicians performing on a stage, assuming a “heroic” status is only one way to experience and share in composed music. “I would postulate that, that pyramid structure has to be minimized, if not destroyed.” She emphasized the need for “give and take” between the audience and the musician. One possible way of doing so is by tapping into the “Golden Mean” (a number that occurs both in nature and in art) in order to bridge the gap between non-musicians and musicians. “As Monet says, it is not necessary to understand it is necessary to love.”

Cultural attitudes toward music seem to be an important factor. In Armenia, Kashkashian said that she couldn’t walk down a single block with composer Tigran Mansurian without people wanting to stop and talk with him! Mansurian enjoys celebrity status in Armenia – not something a composer in the United States will experience! Music: understanding it, feeling it and even playing it, is an important component of Armenian society and culture.

Scott Poulson-Bryant spoke on cultural citizenship in using culture to make advances outside the 2elds of law or politics. In his research, Poulson-Bryant explores ways in which “marginalized communities use culture…to embed themselves into the national narrative of citizenship in the US in the 1970s.” At the same time as civil rights were being expanded, there was also less access to the means of cultural production, he said. Music has shown us the way to rehearse, believe and achieve democracy, Poulson-Bryant said.

“I regard mainstream pop as by-and-large a democratic process, not a perfect one, but more democratic than any other musical scene I know about,” Elijah Wald said. “ e fact that it is democratic isn’t necessarily a good thing, democracy is a messy business,” he said. Wald spoke about the “busing” of 1975 in South Boston to integrate schools. Local residents protested, throwing rocks at the buses carrying black students going to schools and they used Fight the Power by the Isley Brothers as their anthem. South Boston residents, to protest what they perceived to be government encroachment, appropriated Fight the Power.

“I have devoted my life to music, I believe deeply in its power to unite people, and I believe deeply in democracy. But I also believe deeply that the world is a complicated place, and that we need to be willing to deal with its complications and to recognize that big, amorphous, in some ways meaningless concepts like music and democracy mean very diFerent things to other people and even to us in other situations,” Wald said.

“Is there a way to create a space for art in general, and music in particular that isn’t just dependent on the bottom line?” Hirsch said.

Kashkashian highlighted Music for Food as one example of doing so. “Six years ago we began a project called Music for Food, and it was an attempt actually to involve artists, audiences in the community, to make everybody come together as part of the community,” she said.

Based in Boston, Music for Food is a federally-recognized 501(c)3 non-pro2t and now has chapters in 10 U.S. cities. Musicians volunteer their time and talent and 100% of all donations go to bene2t local pantries and shelters. MFF has over 120 artists collaborating with us and has provided more than 250,000 meals to those in need, with concerts in Boston, California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, D. C., Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Tigran Shougarian