Beginning in October, BMP youth musicians in our advanced elementary school and middle school programs started working with Hub New Music via Zoom, composing an original work to be performed during our December Showcase.
This project has given the students an in-depth experience into how a piece of music is composed from start to finish, sponsored by the Celebrity Series of Boston. Check out a this short clip as HUB Lab cellist, Jesse Christeson, shares what his group of BMP students have been working on to the rest of the Zoom orchestra!
Register here for our December 16th Virtual Showcase, featuring 8 virtual ensembles and chamber works by our BMP youth, and our five HUB Lab world-premiere performances!
Newbold Orchestra Director Michael Simon speaks about how members of Hub New Music have inspired his students, and highlights the progress they’ve made collaborating on this project.
Can you describe the process/journey that HUB New Music has taken you and your students on over the past few weeks?
From the start, Hub New Music has provided a total "hands-on" approach for the students. Everything from creating an original narrative for their piece, to creating and combining new rhythms and melodies that capture that narrative, have allowed the students to discover new insights into the creative process of a composer.
Have you and/or your students had an "aha" moment? If so, what was it?
The Hub Lab has shown the students how composing music is much more accessible than many of them may have originally anticipated. Creating a new composition from scratch can initially seem obscure and arduous, however, after each session many of the students are beginning to realize that they already possess many of the tools needed to create a composition from scratch on their own.
What has been the most inspiring part of this process for you as an educator?
Hub New Music has done a fantastic job of breaking down the highly advanced skill of composition in such a way that the students can easily comprehend and take part in the process. The musicians of Hub New Music have also demonstrated how their exemplary instrumental skills play a major role in helping a musician create new music, even for instruments other than their own.
Once the residency has concluded, what do you hope your students will gain from this experience?
By the end of the residency, my hope is that each student will be one step closer to building the bridge between the technical and creative processes involved in music-making. The students have spent a vast amount of time developing their knowledge of the technical skills needed to play their instrument, but with the help of Hub New Music, they have been fortunate enough to discover a new way of composing original music on their own.
Read more about Hub New Music and their mission here.
Thank you to the Filene Foundation and The Celebrity Series of Boston for the financial support to make this collaboration possible!