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20 Belgrade

10/6/2020

 
I learned violin in the basement studio of my teacher’s home. It was a wide, low-ceilinged room - entered through a side door off the driveway. The hinges of the screen door squeaked terribly, so my mom and I would enact an elaborate pantomime upon arrival: open it carefully, wince, and tiptoe downstairs, trying not to disturb the previous lesson. We were a seven minutes early kind of family, so there was always some waiting.

The west-facing wall held a signed picture of my teacher’s teacher, Josef Gingold, who stood guard over the proceedings. He had a Dumbledore face (twinkly eyes), but the sepia grandeur of an old world artist. Occasionally you’d catch your reflection in the frame - a child’s crooked bow superimposed on one of the twentieth century’s greatest violinists. Jacques Israelovitch looked on, too, but he seemed less friendly.

To the north were shelves and shelves of sheet music, rummaged through whenever a student graduated to a new piece. The decayed items were the most exciting, I remember. A bundle of loose pages, corners frayed, was a Tzigane time capsule, holding not just Ravel’s arabesques but also the memory of my teacher’s lessons “at Indiana” (bubbly cursive in the margins). A manila folder contained the unruly mass of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto - an ancient Peters edition dignified with Mr. Gingold’s instructions. To a conservatory professor, I was not ready for these pieces - I hadn’t finished my Kreutzer sequence or mastered my martelé - but I was eager. On days when my teacher granted me a new assignment, I would walk out of my lesson with a thief’s smile - crumbling pages stuffed into the pocket of my oversized violin case.

Just overhead, a small constellation of chips and scratches: years’ worth of collisions between teenaged bows and beige paint. As a little kid, I looked forward to the day when I’d be tall enough to send an “up bow” careening into the ceiling. As a big kid, I would do a sort of dance to avoid cratering my first real bow - hazelnut brown with a dull mother of pearl slide, “Guy Jeandel” stamped above the frog (somewhere between a workshop in Japan and the dealer in Illinois, it acquired a French name).

* * *

For the first time in seven months, I am teaching in-person lessons. At the end of the night, I close the windows partway (gotta keep that airflow), break down the sanitizing station in our hallway, lock the doors, and walk home to JP. Usually, as I walk, I think back on the day's lessons: trying to keep track of who is owed a how-to video, who needs an updated practice sheet, who could use a new etude next week, and on and on. But after that first day of teaching, it was memories of my childhood teacher's basement studio that came flooding back - the sounds and sights described above.

​It got me thinking: what lessons can we draw from the space where learning happens? What does our little corner of Roslindale mean to our musiConnects family? To our students in the Roslindale Community Program, to our students in the Residency Program, to our teachers, to our staff? 

This new series, 20 Belgrade​, will explore that idea, celebrating the return to our workplace while questioning what we've learned from its absence.

- David
​

Thank you, Francesca!

9/3/2020

 
In the 2020-21 season, two of our Resident Musicians - Liz and Francesca - will transition to new roles at musiConnects. They will continue to teach lessons in our Roslindale Community Program, but step back from their teaching and performance duties in our Residency Program. Although this isn’t “goodbye,” it seemed like a good moment to say “thank you” for all that they’ve done for the musiConnects community! Read on to learn about what makes Liz and Francesca such incredible Resident Musicians.

In her two seasons as a musiConnects Resident Musician, Francesca made an incredible impression. As a teacher, she is deeply dedicated to her students, always going above and beyond. One colleague remembers Francesca’s late-night emails - checking on a student, sharing an update about a class, or offering a suggestion - which spoke volumes about her dedication and incredible professionalism. 

​As a cellist and performing artist, she is extremely skilled, playing with enviable mastery and bringing a keen intelligence, thoughtful perspective, and sophisticated artistry to every situation she encounters. 
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Admiration for Francesca is universal among her colleagues. One mentioned appreciation for “how Francesca’s cello champions benefitted from her expertise, creativity, and mentorship… and how her fellow Resident Musicians have benefited from her thoughtful contributions and lovely musicianship!” Another will miss “the example that she always sets, through the conviction of her playing and her deep care for her students.”


In her own words:

Do you have a favorite musiConnects memory?
“There are so many highlights I could mention! But the Emotional Strings performance of Ayiti Chérie my first year will also be a particularly special memory.”

Will you be involved with musiConnects going forward? If so, how?
“I will still be teaching some students through the Roslindale Community Partnership program….and I’m sure I’ll drop in [from time to time] to sub [in the Residency Program], so… students, keep practicing! I might be back… hahaha!!”

Do you have a message for your musiConnects students?
“Believe it or not, I’m just a little older than you guys….and if I can impart any wisdom in my “young” age it’s to enjoy your friendships with your musiConnects friends and teachers. Looking back at my life and the paths I’ve taken, I’ve always found myself most-bonded with people who also played instruments… people with this shared experience. It’s a special community that has been my compass at many points of my life, and I hope you’ll come to cherish that community too! Regardless of where your life goals take you, everywhere you go you’ll find people like you, people who put time and attention into music at some point in their lives. I hope your musiConnects experience adds to your own sense of community and self.”

Anything else you’d like to share?
“I’m looking forward to collaborating more with people, and to traveling again (someday!). In the coming months I’ll have some concerts with Castle of Our Skins, so please check out their website for upcoming events. For all my CelloChamps, remember that standing cellist I showed you our last week? Keep an eye out in December… you may see us playing together… I wish I could give goodbye hugs to everyone—so I owe you one at a post-pandemic time! Remind me next time I see you.”

Thank you, Liz!

9/3/2020

 
In the 2020-21 season, two of our Resident Musicians - Liz and Francesca - will transition to new roles at musiConnects. They will continue to teach lessons in our Roslindale Community Program, but step back from their teaching and performance duties in our Residency Program. Although this isn’t “goodbye,” it seemed like a good moment to say “thank you” for all that they’ve done for the musiConnects community! Read on to learn about what makes Liz and Francesca such incredible Resident Musicians.

In her four seasons as Program Director - and eight seasons as a Resident Musician! - Liz served her students and colleagues with tireless dedication. As Program Director, Liz managed every aspect of musiConnects’ education programs: a huge undertaking requiring no small amount of patience and creativity! If musiConnects has grown or improved over the past several years, it is because of Liz’s efforts - she never consciously draws attention to herself, but her work speaks for itself. As an educator, Liz teaches her students with love, expertise, and careful thought. People often say that you “play the person you are” (meaning that a performer’s personality and character come through in the way they play their instrument, whether or not they mean to)! In Liz’s case, her viola playing provides a window into a strong and caring character: deeply accomplished, disciplined, sensitive, and committed to the act of listening. 
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One colleague mentioned how they would miss “playing alongside a true listener and truly committed chamber musician, witnessing your joy, and [being] inspired by the joy that you inspire in your students!” Another says that “if you look up ‘ideal viola playing’ in an encyclopedia... you would see Liz’s picture!

In her own words:

Do you have a favorite musiConnects memory? 
This is such a tough question!  Every time I think of a “favorite moment” I think of another to add to the list.  I have so many fond memories from lessons, performances, Harmony Strings, and potluck meals that it’s hard to even rank them.  However, there’s one student quote that has stuck with me for about seven years now (almost my whole time at mC!)… a viola student said to me during a lesson “I’m going to try my best because I love to see you smile.” There have been so many smiles since then, and so many memories making music together. Our students and families really are the best, and I treasure each relationship that has blossomed over the years.
 
Will you be involved in musiConnects going forward?
Yes!  I’m looking forward to continuing teaching in the Roslindale Community Program, and I hope to be at as many Residency performances as possible in the future as well.
 
Do you have a message for your musiConnects students?
Make sure to always be listening :)  That means to listen to your personal sound that you create on your instrument, listen to your peers in a chamber group whether it’s spoken ideas or musical ones, listen not only to what the wonderful RMs say but also attend performances. We sometimes focus too much on the physicality of the instrument, but so much can be learned in music from listening with our ears, and with our heart.
 
Anything else you’d like to share?
I’m really excited to see musiConnects grow and thrive in the future and hope families will keep in touch with updates!

Class of 2020: Divya

6/30/2020

 
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We're so proud of our 2020 graduates. From "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to Haydn concertos, these Roslindale Community Program have grown immensely -- as musicians and as people -- through years of lessons, rehearsals, and recitals. As they undertake their next adventures, we we wish them joy, discovery, and a lifetime of musical experiences.

Congratulations to...
Divya
High School: Boston Latin 
Instrument: Violin
mC teacher: Josh
Next Steps: Boston University (biology/pre-med)
​
​
  • What do you remember from your earliest violin lessons?
I remember struggling to read music when I first started lessons. Sometimes, I would actually write the notes’ letters above the music because it would take forever to play and read just one line. After years of practice, though, reading music has become almost innate.

  • What do you like about music?
I like music because it is a way to express and understand yourself. I also like creating something that sounds good to me and others.

  • Can you remember a challenge that you worked through? Something that used to seem very difficult, but is now easy?
Playing chords used to be tough for me but it has definitely gotten easier with practice. 

  • Do you have a favorite memory from your years of violin lessons?
I really liked the rhythm games we played in Chamber Kids since we were able to incorporate everyone’s different rhythms to create one cohesive melody. 

  • Do you have a favorite piece of music? It could be one you learned on your instrument, or something else entirely.
My favorite piece on the violin is probably Czardas. I like the song’s folk elements and how it starts off slow and later gets faster and faster.

  • What's next for you?
I’ll be majoring in biology at BU on the pre-med track. Hopefully, I can get into research and figure out what track of medicine I would like to pursue.
 
  • Do you think you'll keep playing your violin? Can you imagine what role it might play in the future?
I definitely think I will continue to play the violin and possibly join the orchestra at BU. 

Fresh Starts

2/13/2020

 
The musiConnects chamber music ethos challenges our Resident Musician faculty to think outside of the box. We find there is a wealth of repertoire for Beginning and Intermediate String Orchestras, but relatively few pieces of chamber music (small ensembles like string duos, trios, quartets, or quintets) geared toward young players. As a result, our faculty ends up adapting other music, creating new pieces (sometimes in collaboration with our students), improvising, and developing games and exercises that impart the skills of small ensemble playing. After 13 years, we have a body of musiConnects “standards” that we regularly draw upon... but each chamber group is different. Sometimes a new approach is needed. Here, Resident Musician & Program Director Liz Stefan shares a window into that planning process.

“With my chamber group a few weeks ago, things were feeling… well… a little stuck.  Most weeks, we have a great, cheerful dynamic, but lately I've been feeling we could use a bit more productive music-making. Some students were tired of the piece we were playing, some felt it was too hard, and others simply wanted to use the time to socialize.  So, as a teacher, it was time to think outside the box to bring an engaging lesson that could reach everyone and reset the room.
The following week I came in with a few different scenarios in mind, expecting to read the room and see which direction to take.  Here’s what unfolded:
  • We started without instruments (This was shockingly hard for me - I’m so used to starting with instruments in hand!).
  • Each student was given a small white board, and instructed to write down two measures of rhythms in 4/4 time.
  • Students then demonstrated and taught their rhythms to the rest of the group.
  • Together, we chose a key (G Major).
  • Using this key, we transformed everyone’s rhythms into a short melody.
  • We decided on a few different orders, passing the measures around so everyone had a chance to play each other’s creation.
  • We added a “drone” (a long, held note) underneath, and kept passing the measures around, so everyone was playing at once.

It was a simple process, and an experiment, but what happened at the end was most exciting… they were wanting more! The questions that are popping up while we go through this process are awesome:
  • “What makes a melody?”
  • “What happens if what I wrote down feels too hard?” (Interestingly, most wanted to keep practicing it, because after all... they created it!)
  • “How can I teach someone else what I’ve created?”
  • “How can we work together and listen to and be open to each others’ ideas and suggestions?”
  • “How can we smoothly transition from one person’s idea to the next?”

We'll keep exploring these questions, but in the meantime, it's great to see how a slight change of routine can lift everyone's spirits & get the creative juices flowing again!

A message from our founder: who we are + where we're going!

11/11/2019

 
Dear musiConnects supporters and friends,

It is my absolute pleasure to be writing to you in our 13th year! As the founder of musiConnects, I couldn’t be more proud of what the organization has become, and where we are headed.

With Executive Director Nancy Galluzzo, our dedicated board and newly formed committees at the helm, our staff of Resident Musicians are firing on all cylinders - preparing for a new Mattapan based concert series featuring living composers of color, and working tirelessly with phenomenal students at each of our five sites. 

In reviewing our past, present and future, our talented team of dedicated musicians were asked to share their thoughts and dreams about musiConnects. I hope you enjoy reading our words and visions below and are moved to support our work!
​

At musiConnects, we are:

• A community comprised of students, musicians and families, who are all dedicated to the well-being of the whole.

• Pioneering a unique Chamber Music Model - a sandbox for collaborative musical play - in our own neighborhoods where we, our families and our audiences work and live.

• Fully committed to Mattapan, an often under-resourced neighborhood, by teaching and mentoring youth and programming student and faculty performances by underrepresented composers.

• An organization that fuses all of our Resident Musicians’ interests - performing and teaching in this community setting in a way that feels authentic.

• A group of students and Resident Musicians all contributing to an exciting on-going musical conversation.

At musiConnects, we love:

• Seeing families dance together at our annual Family Fiddle Food Fest! Now in its 8th year!

• Witnessing a student overcome her doubt between private lessons, going from “It’s too hard, I can’t do it” to using her bow with confidence.

• Having a workplace that feels like part of the fabric of the city — hearing the sounds of the square, with the train passing across the street. It feels like home.

• Teaching musiConnects students who have really fallen in love with their instrument. Their excitement for lessons and their sense of discovery gives us great joy and motivation.

• Our student recitals. They have such a celebratory atmosphere, and it’s clear that every student has made a lot of progress over the course of the year. The audience is full of families and friends, who cheer for each and every student making it feel like a true community event.

In year 20 - with YOUR help - we will:

• Have the capacity to serve an expanded student body of all ages - students for whom music is a joy - and to have the ability to deepen our relationships by interacting with these students more often.

• Support our Resident Musicians with full time positions at a living wage.

• Live in our own accessible space in Mattapan Square which will feel like a home for our musicians and students alike, and will serve as a public space with access to multiple community services.

• Build a strong cohort of high school students who model their love of music and their devotion to learning and practice for our younger students. These young mentors will nurture students’ own musical creations and ideas.

• Engage with inspired alumni coming back to work with us and sharing their stories.

• Dedicate more time with students to expand their musical worlds beyond musiConnects.

• Forge even more fruitful and meaningful partnerships with organizations and individuals in our community. 

When I began this journey 13 years ago, donors like you believed in my vision. Since that time, hundreds of youth from Mattapan and the surrounding area have received transformative music instruction and mentoring. With your support, we can intensify our impact in an often overlooked community. Please join us in making our dreams a reality!

In partnership,
Betsy Hinkle
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A Message from heath marlow, outgoing board president

6/21/2019

 
​As I prepare to lead my final board meeting next week, I can’t help but look back across my nearly six years of supporting musiConnects and feeling both gratitude and satisfaction. Gratitude for the many colleagues who have been similarly inspired by our mission and who have given so much of themselves to attempt to realize it. Satisfaction for playing a significant role in strategically shaping the trajectory of our growth, building our organizational culture, and deepening our roots.
 
My first glimpse of musiConnects came from conversations with Betsy Hinkle, the founder. While I was helping to build Community MusicWorks in Providence, she was hard at work establishing her own programming at Mattapan’s Chittick Elementary School, which served as her home base for nine years. Several years later, after I began a new position at the New England Conservatory, Betsy asked me to join Jim and Diane—a small group of committed advisors. She was worried about burning out, and could we please help her take her start-up to the next level? We became, essentially, a nonprofit board-in-training. Betsy looked to us to put in place the necessary pieces to support her vision: transforming the lives of children and families through the vehicle of chamber music.
 
Due to her early fundraising success and spendthrift budgeting, Betsy had managed to save up more than $40,000 by the time she realized that she couldn’t continue to carry the responsibilities of a growing organization on her own. Together, we made the decision to hire an administrator, allowing Betsy to return her focus to teaching and performing—the two activities that she loves most.
 
Since 2013, each year has seen substantial new developments that have refined and solidified the organization’s infrastructure. If musiConnects were a seafaring vessel, many of these developments have been made below the surface of the water, meaning that, from the shore, the changes may not be apparent. However, down below, the engine room machinery that powers the Resident Musicians’ daily work has been painstakingly constructed and refined.
 
Along with Betsy choosing to relinquish her leadership role in order to focus on programmatic duties as a Resident Musician, another critical moment for the organization came three years ago. In April 2016, Nancy Galluzzo agreed to become musiConnects’ first executive director. Returning to the nautical imagery, Nancy has, among other accomplishments, calmed the waters and provided a steady hand on the wheel for our committed crew of musicians.
 
In 2019, musiConnects continues to thrive. These days, I spend most of my time as President thinking about how to strategically integrate our varied programming within Boston’s Mattapan community or how to increase the membership of our Board. Five short years ago, several of us sat around Jim’s dining room table wondering if we dared risk Betsy’s carefully accumulated savings to invest in building up the organization’s infrastructure. I’m so glad that we did. As I conclude my service on the board this month, I’m proud of being part of the team that made that strategic decision, and so many others since, to help musiConnects move ever closer to achieving its mission.
 
Reflecting on these past years of being so closely affiliated with musiConnects, it feels good to support something that provides opportunities for feeling gratitude and satisfaction. This mission of creating community change through chamber music is really something very special. Thank you for joining me and playing your part.
 
Heath Marlow
President, Board of Directors 

brushes & strings: an experimental collaboration

5/1/2019

 
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In September of 2018, in an effort to engage more meaningfully with Mattapan residents, musiConnects posted a Request for Proposals seeking individual artist or arts and culture organization currently creating and performing in the Mattapan neighborhood who would be excited by the opportunity to collaborate with professional string musicians to create an experimental performance merging genres.

Award winning Mattapan Artist, Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire, answered the call.  With extensive experience in community arts engagement and as a life-long resident of Mattapan, a collaboration between Marjorie and musiConnects was perfect.

Over the next few months, Marjorie and musiConnects met to envision what the evening would look like.  Holding the event at the Mattahunt BCYF was a natural choice as both Marjorie and musiConnects have independently held programming there and the community center is familiar to Mattapan residents. 

After some fruitful visioning sessions, Marjorie and musConnects decided to create an evening of essentially instruction-less painting  with our live musicians tapping into various emotions encouraged by eclectic repertoire choices.  Our musicians also experimented with performing in different locations in the room.  Despite that earlier paint  classes by Marjorie were usually guided, the painters were excited to think about the intersection of painting and music to inspire their creativity.

By all accounts the evening was a success and provided a wonderful vehicle for Mattapan residents to spend an evening with each other, a local artist and local musicians in a creative collaboration.  Stay tuned for another experiment!

self discovery through music!

4/8/2019

 
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​By making a gift to musiConnects this Spring, you will ensure the impact of many exciting programs focused on all stages of youth development.  Our new Peer Leadership Program is a great example. David Rubin, a Resident Musician and the group’s organizer, describes the idea and goals of the program:
 
“For myself - and many of my colleagues, too - music became a focal point in my life as a teenager. I started playing violin as a child, but it wasn’t until I was older — when I started making music with other kids who were similarly committed, and when I began to understand music as a vehicle to engage with the world and express one’s feelings and inner life — that I understood musical practice as something that could be valuable and meaningful in the long-term.
 
Our initial goal has been to start small - to create a space for the older students to come together, and to see what happens in that space. To that end, I started organizing bi-weekly meetups for a small group of pre-teen & teen students in musiConnects’ residency programming. The idea was to create a space for these students to be themselves - forming bonds with each other and developing a social attachment to their music study, at an age where that attachment has the potential to deepen. The teens are driving the proceedings, and adults are there to gently guide and facilitate. Every week we share snacks and a check-in, catching up on everyone’s news. We discuss and explore musical topics, but with an emphasis on a) implications for the world at large (How can music matter?), and b) our own emotional responses (How can music matter to me?).
 
Make a safe space for a group of amazing kids, and there’s no limit to what they can discover about their art, the world, and themselves.  We have our traditions - only the holder of the “magic rosin” has speaking privileges! - and our jokes. We’ve had good discussions in which they’ve been thoughtful and vulnerable and curious. The foundation is there - I’m excited to see where this goes - next year and beyond.”
 
Student responses to the program have been positive, “I like how we can bond over our mistakes while enjoying learning new things,” and “This group means a place where we can be ourselves and is a break from our busy and stressful lives,” letting us know we are providing a safe, creative learning space.
 
You make these meaningful interactions possible at a critical stage in youth development.  Your gift now can encourage vulnerable youth to become healthy and effective peer leaders and  community members.
 
Warmly,
Nancy Galluzzo
Executive Director

Thanks to the dorchester reporter for some great press on our upcoming event!

2/14/2019

 
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​musiConnects  |  20 Belgrade Avenue #1, Roslindale, MA 02131  | info@musiconnects.org