We’re working to illuminate the arts as the center of community life.
The Jacobs School of Music Community Engagement Initiative is focused on building sustainable artistic capacity and expertise throughout rural Indiana. In addition to creating long-lasting, collaborative relationships with current and future community partners, the initiative empowers community engagement knowledge and best practices through the Jacobs School of Music. This initiative is meant to function as an onramp to a future in which the Jacobs School considers community engagement a fundamental part of its core mission.
In times of isolation, we are maneuvering our activities to promote artistic connection, stability, and resilience.
We have pivoted to virtual programming to keep our growing networks with rural partners strong. Our recent Community Engagement Summit acted as a kick-off for the initiative by bringing together Jacobs students, faculty, community leaders, and past collaborators. Keynote speeches from impressive music innovators like Melissa Ngan from the Fifth House Ensemble, Stanford Thompson from Play on Philly, and Afa Dworkin from the Sphinx Organization honed in on how music and community connect in the professional world. These remarks were complemented by student organization brainstorming sessions, asset-based community development training, funding announcements, and even musical zoom improv!
We are making world-class music education resources accessible and personal.
We help Jacobs students, faculty and ensembles step foot into classrooms and performance spaces all throughout the state. Whether engaging in a unique performance, a collaboration with local musicians, or one-on-one mentoring sessions, the relationships molded through these projects influence rural participants and Jacobs musicians alike. For Jacobs students, these projects help redefine their understanding of modern musicianship and what it means to connect meaningfully with an audience. The networks build through these musical experience then act as gates to deeper development, project brainstorming, and resources for increased arts programming in rural communities.
We are encouraging movement as a means of expression and healing.
Movement and physical expression are crucial for a healthy lifestyle. We are partnering dance students with local YMCAs to teach dance classes and encourage creative healing. These classes range from ballet foundations for toddlers to chair movement for the elderly. Initially an experimental project, the Ballet Project has launched a powerful partnership between the YMCA in Washington County and the Bloomington Ballet Ensemble, made up of Jacobs School of Music Ballet students. The result has been a consistent stream of ballet training for Washington County community members.
We are building community around performance and artistic collaboration.
Enjoying the arts isn’t just about being in the audience – it is also about being involved in the action yourself. We have worked with organizations like the Singing Hoosiers to travel and collaborate with local students throughout our rural partner communities. We have propelled projects with high schoolers rapping and singing onstage, local storytellers collaborating and performing with classical musicians, jazz bands jamming at rural community events, and have even connected community members with student researchers to explore how the arts can enrich their communities. We know that the true meaning behind the arts comes with more than just talent and performance; it comes with inclusive, inspiring experiences for all.
We are facilitating education on how to build capacity around community articulated visions.
We are spreading community engagement knowledge and best practices throughout the Jacobs School of Music. With public summits, workshops, and vast opportunities for grants and research projects, our musicians are getting insight about the important relationship between the arts and community development. They are learning how the arts play an essential role in social and economic elements of all communities, and that their musical careers can have impact far beyond impressive performance. Our growing toolkits and resources are spreading this message throughout the Jacobs school and positioning engagement as a cornerstone of music education.
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Words from our Immediate Past Provost
“Now, as we wrap up one of the most challenging, unusual years many of us have yet experienced, I want to take a moment to focus on the center’s enormous impact on the many Hoosier communities with whom we work, and its impact on those in the IU community who have the opportunity to work with these partners.”
-IU Bloomington Provost Lauren Robel: Read her full article here
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Words from our Colleagues
“Our colleagues at the Jacobs School of Music have been extraordinary partners in this work, developing more than 20 performing arts and research projects over two years in partnership with neighboring communities, including Nashville, Salem, Huntingburg, Paoli, and Batesville. Faculty, students, and staff are working with schools, municipalities, local businesses, and cultural organizations to build artistic skills, capacity, and local networks through music. These programs and collaborations expose residents of all ages to new experiences and artforms and inspire local leaders, artists, and institutions to build community pride and hope through the arts and their own arts heritage. In the same key, the Jacobs School of Music is building lasting, meaningful relationships with communities and positioning public engagement as a fundamental component of the school’s curriculum and student experience.”
-Adrian Starnes, Center for Rural Engagement Quality of Place Liaison: Read his full article here