Music Unwound

FAIN: GI-50294-11

Pacific Symphony (Santa Ana, CA 92704-8908)
Joseph I. Horowitz (Project Director: August 2010 to December 2015)

Implementation of orchestra performances, a CD, and related programs exploring the history and culture informing works by Dvorak and Copland.

A consortium of four orchestras -- Pacific Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the North Carolina Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra -- seeks NEH support to create humanities-infused thematic programming. Two “Music Unwound” topics would be developed: "Dvorak and America," and "Copland and Mexico." Each orchestra would use a composer to illuminate issues of culture and society and explore these topics via festivals incorporating multi-media subscription concerts. Ancillary events, educational outreach, and collaborations with museums are also planned. The project will provide contexts for emotional and intellectual engagement and features potent linkage to high schools and universities featuring thematic humanities content. “Music Unwound” is conceived in the conviction that if orchestras are to regain impact as agents of cultural identity, a broader humanities mandate would vitally enhance both their mission and their capacity.