Community Engagement

Residency Programs and Community Concerts

Our program continues to expand in Season 34!

We are pleased to be expanding our Community Engagement Program this year to three weeks. Our Ensemble-in-Residence, Decoda, an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, will be working with students at Fitch High School in Groton, Waterford Country School and with the adult participants at Vista Life Innovations. They will also lead two one-week residencies at Cheshire Correctional Institute where the prisoners are offered life-changing experiences through the musical workshops led by the Decoda artists.

 

In addition to the residency programs, Decoda will be performing at a FREE family concert on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 2:30pm at Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme. In addition, we will host a formal concert on Sunday, November 24, from 2:00-3:30pm at Saint Ann’s Church in Old Lyme followed by a post-concert reception.

 

Details will be shared via email and on our website. Decoda concerts are FREE!

Join our mailing list to be reminded about our FREE concerts!
In November, Musical Masterworks and Decoda will return to shoreline nonprofits and schools.

We will spend a week with Waterford Country School, a nonprofit dedicated to educating at risk youth who have been un successful in traditional school settings. Our musical workshop is designed to foster trust and a sense of community and boost confidence through the vehicle of chamber music.  We will return to Fitch High School in Groton to work with their instrumental ensembles as well as their advanced theory and composition students. Our goal is to help them envision and experience the world of professional musicians/composers as they work with our Ensemble-in-Residence, Decoda. A highlight is when Decoda performs the student compositions to a live audience of friends, family, and community!

With our workshops over the past two years at Vista, a nonprofit creating community and pathways to independence for young adults with neurological disabilities, a true partnership has developed. Members of the Vista community now regularly attend MM main series concerts. In addition, staff from MM attend presentations by the Vista Community. Last season we were delighted to expand the scope of our creative workshops with their community and incorporate both music and the visual arts into the program.

We will bring creative programming to Cheshire Correctional Institution inmates – a high/medium security men’s prison in New Haven County.

Decoda, through their other long-term residencies with prisons, have been “inspired by the power of music to help with rehabilitation and anti-recidivism.” For a second time, MM is excited to offer this programming which “promotes self-expression in a creative space, strengthens citizenship within the prison community, and uses collaborative activities to foster social and analytical skills for success.”

Musical Masterworks is grateful to the following foundations for their grants in support of our Community Engagement Program:

 

 

 

Kitchings Family Foundation

 

George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee

 

Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust

  • "Waterford Country School’s experience working with Musical Masterworks and Decoda this December was amazing for both students and staff. Being a therapeutic education program, this collaboration allowed our students to explore music, song writing and self-expression in such a unique way, that they are excited to learn more and continue this exploration."

    - Waterford Country School Staff Member

  • "I learned about a new type of music that helps regulate my emotions”

    - Fitch High School Student

  • “Thank you for this life changing experience. I will never be the same. My heart just grew larger because of workshop”

    - Cheshire Correctional Institute Inmate

  • "This one week experience deepened staff and students connections and allowed them to be open to creating new connections”.

    - Waterford Country School Staff

  • "I learned that I want to try composing new music or putting together a trio/quartet with my friends. Chamber music is AWESOME!”

    - Fitch High School Student

  • “Thank you for your time and I do believe that Musical Masterworks should receive unlimited funding to help change lives as well as save lives through music.”

    - Cheshire Correctional Institute Inmate

  • "Through our connection with Musical Masterworks and Decoda, we opened ourselves to exploring music as part of our program and have hired a music teacher.”

    - Waterford Country School Staff Member

  • "I want to say that Decoda was an amazing experience for me to be creative and to grow not only as a band student but also as a student in general."

    - Fitch High School Student

  • "The spark I saw in my students while working with Decoda is one that has inspired my students to embrace the world of music."

    - Fitch High School Staff Member

  • “Try your best to come back.”

    - Cheshire Correctional Institute Inmate

  • “Thank you for your time and I do believe that Musical Masterworks should receive unlimited funding to help change lives as well as save lives through music.”

    - Cheshire Correctional Institute Inmate

Community Engagement in the News

Read CT Examiner's story about last year's Community Engagement Program