Things to think about when you’re laid up at home with a bad back in July:
Is it just me, or has almost every weekend this summer been rainy? Weekdays (like today) are sunny and hot and enticing, and then as soon as you hit Friday evening, the clouds roll in and the wet stuff is not far behind. Of course I try to make the best of it, and grab whatever bits of sunshine each weekend ekes out, but it is starting to get to me. Our summer is much too short to not be filled with sunny and hot weekends. We deserve it, darn it!
We at The Music Settlement are embracing our future as a “green” communications site – one that eventually will minimize paper and rely solely on e-mail for inter-organizational communication, but the last several days have reminded us here that even e-communication has its flaws. I don’t know whether it’s solar flares or hardware failures or a squirrel somewhere chewing through the lines, but The Music Settlement has had a spotty electronic connection at best to the outside world for the last week and a half. You won’t be surprised to hear that this has been affecting the office environment, where we’ve all gotten pretty comfortable with thinking that we can sit at our desks and send a message out to anybody, anywhere, anytime. It’s startling to be plunged back into the “dark ages,” when you needed to pick up a telephone (which is still working, at this point!) or actually get up and walk to someone else’s office to be able to speak with them. I guess the “green” office initiative still has a little way to go…
We’re nearing the end of the summer session at The Music Settlement. Music Builders and Musical Theatre Camp have wrapped up with outstanding finales for both that really showed off our creative teachers and just how much young people can do when you give them a challenge. Our ArtWorks summer apprentice program partnership with Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio ends this week with a great performance scheduled for this Wednesday July 29th beginning at 5pm at Wade Oval. It has been a pleasure to host the band and choral groups for ArtWorks this summer. The apprentices are talented, attentive, motivated and inspiring to all who meet them. They have filled our campus with great music and represented their many communities and schools in the best light. I will miss their presence dearly. Many other activities are winding up as we head towards August, but it has been a very satisfying summer on our little corner of Magnolia Drive.
There’s a lot to be excited about at The Music Settlement in the coming year, and you will have a chance to see it all for yourself in our 2009-10 Course Listing for fall and spring, due to hit the stands today! When you see it, you will recognize immediately that The Music Settlement is sending a new message. It’s our featured branding instrument and it honors the past, unveils a new present, and hints at the future. You can get a taste of our offerings right now at our website, www.themusicsettlement.org, but I recommend that you also get your hands on the course booklet itself. If you would like to receive one in the mail and you are not on our mailing list, contact Rob Bruder, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at rbruder@themusicsettlement.org and he’ll get one in the mail to you. Or better still, come visit us and pick one up at the Enrollment and Customer Service office in the Atrium.
I want to take a moment to thank the Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, and the John P. Murphy Foundation for their support of our rebranding efforts. Their support helped make the catalog a reality. It’s going to be and exciting year at The Music Settlement – don’t miss out!
Well, it’s time to ice my back again. Have a great week!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Only Through Art Can We Get Outside Ourselves
“Only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another’s view of the universe… which would otherwise have remained unknown to us like the landscapes of the moon.” - Marcel Proust
Happy Moon Day! July 20th, 1969 is a day I will always remember vividly. I was 12 years old and absolutely fascinated with the space program, with which I had familiarized myself by building dozens of plastic models of Mercury/Gemini/Apollo space capsules, lunar modules (known as the “LM” and pronounced “lem” for its early name, the “Lunar Excursion Module”), Atlas, Redstone, and Saturn V rockets, and anything else I could get my hands on. I was a total space geek. I remember watching the broadcast from the moon as if it was yesterday, and inwardly I still felt it was yesterday, until the last couple of days…
It’s hard to not feel old when the seminal event of your youth is celebrating its fortieth anniversary (I have vague memories of JFK’s assassination, and was too young to attend Woodstock - though I wanted to!). It really didn’t hit me hard, though, until I read about the death of the man who I will always associate with the space program - Walter Cronkite. Those two events pushed me into the realization that my youth is irrevocably in the past.
But my personal descent into dotage does not diminish what the momentum felt like in July of 1969. While I was certainly aware that we were attempting to do what never had been done before, it felt to me like the inevitable culmination of an irresistible force, rather than a risky effort that may or may not go as planned. We, as a people and as a world, seemed determined to move forward, to reach beyond, and to find solutions as we needed them, doing so by the seat of our pants. It may be this same spirit that I’ve missed most over the years since, as much of the progress I took for granted at the time became clouded by economic, social, and historical reality. But even that sobering realization has given me strength, because I have come to recognize that for success to be achieved, it must be shared by all. Maybe we got a little ahead of ourselves in 1969, for, even as we reached the unreachable, many of us were closing our eyes to war, poverty, racism, and intolerance. I don’t mean to get too preachy, but if we are going to celebrate something as an achievement on behalf all mankind, as Neil Armstrong said, then our goal should be to think, speak, and act on behalf all mankind as well.
Well, enough about that worldly stuff! Last week at The Music Settlement, we capped off our Annual Meeting in a very innovative way! After reading the reports, electing the officers, and celebrati
ng the achievements, we asked members of the audience to join us in a drum circle. As we all chanted a celebratory song adapted from the Bombera people of Mali in West Africa, facilitator and faculty member Beau Lisy led our hearty volunteers in creating a percussion experience that was both moving and fun. I’ve included some snapshots with this article that give you a peek at the variety of board members, faculty, staff and friends who participated. This kind of experience bridges cultural and geographical gaps and gives us a glimpse of how music and celebration can mix together in the soul. It was exhilarating!
Wait, maybe I’m not done with the worldly stuff after all…
Have a great week!
Monday, July 13, 2009
The Music Settlement in Fiscal Year 2009
How should we measure the 2009 fiscal and school year at The Music Settlement?
Should we speak in terms of accomplishments, of impacts made and goals achieved? In the past year, The Music Settlement has built upon the momentum that began with the completion of our strategic plan. In the four areas identified in the plan as action steps, we stayed on timeline and produced significant results that reinforce our commitment to the plan as a living document that does not gather dust on the shelf. Highlights of the plan include comprehensive governance reform spearheaded by the Board’s Governance Committee, full-scale rebranding efforts impacting every aspect of our internal and external message, and ongoing facility evaluation that will result in a master plan for the campus going forward. Our strategic plan is truly our roadmap for the future that guides us every day, in everything we do.
Should we cite our operational achievements in the face of overwhelming challenges? While the numbers from the just-completed year are not yet complete, the picture that emerges is truly laudable. We finished 2009 with our earned revenues higher than in 2008, despite the unprecedented economic downturn, and we appear to be headed towards a break-even bottom line. This was accomplished while protecting the current employee base, preserving benefits and wages at the 2008 level, and keeping programs and offerings at the levels originally planned. No matter how you look at it, this is a major victory for the organization in a time when many of our peers have suffered deep cuts, program terminations, and layoffs.
Or perhaps we should let others speak for our record in the past year. We were nominated for an Award of Achievement by Northern Ohio Live for our fundraising event, Diaspora of the Drum featuring Savion Glover, and we received the highest level of award and certification from Step Up to Quality, Ohio’s voluntary rating system for child care programs licensed by the state’s Department of Job and Family Services. Our Director of Music Therapy, Ronna Kaplan, became President-Elect of the National Music Therapy Association, and several members of her staff were honored with offices, publications and awards for their outstanding work. Our brand-new Jazz and American Music Program in the Department of Music earned acceptance as a member of the Berklee College of Music’s prestigious City Music Network. These and many other examples remind us of the value placed on The Music Settlement by our community and by the country.
I think the best measure of our efforts in 2009, though, is not in accolades, dollars, or our own hard work; it’s found in how we impact the lives of those who seek us out.
Over the past year, I have challenged the staff, faculty, and therapists of The Music Settlement to define our philosophy of education - what principles overarch our efforts in every educational department and what guides our decisions as administrators. Here is the result:
These are not just words - this is what we do. They are a charge and a pledge. Simple and to the point, this statement frames what we do today, tomorrow, and into the future, echoing throughout our history and resonating as we move forward. Let me illustrate with a few of our stories.
The past: Many of you were thrilled and moved by the recently released film, The Soloist, which tells the heart-rending story of Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted artist who studied at The Music Settlement in the 1960’s before the onset of mental illness drove him into a life of homelessness and pain from which music seemed to be his only release. The film briefly touched upon Nathaniel’s relationship with his instructor at The Music Settlement, Harry Barnoff. Harry’s long career as an instructor here was defined not only by his outstanding musicianship and pedagogy, but by his commitment to mentoring those who studied with him. Harry cared about Nathaniel the person, and made every effort to guide his fragile student to choices that would best suit him, even if for Nathaniel it meant foregoing study at the prestigious Julliard School. The heartbreak of the story is deepened by Nathaniel’s disregard for the guidance Harry offered, but their shared history did not stop there. To this day, Harry stays in contact with Nathaniel, offering an open ear to a man half a continent away whose greatest need beyond musical accomplishment is a caring heart. Harry’s true legacy is measured not by his artistic talent, but by his belief in his fellow man.
The present: There are many examples I can give you of the difference we are making right now in the lives of young people, but let me focus on just a few that represent the breadth of our efforts.
Jonathan Thomas is a relatively new student at The Music Settlement. He started out as a member of the Settlement Jazz Orchestra a couple of years ago. A keyboardist with talent that belies his 16 years, Jonathan was recognized early on for his musical gifts. But he also had the opportunity at The Music Settlement to grow both in responsibility and in his world view. He was awarded a full scholarship to the first year of the Jazz @ The Settlement summer program last year. He continued to study with instructors Eric Gould and Jackie Warren throughout the school year and has spent this summer as a Department of Music intern and accompanist for the summer Jazz @ The Settlement (JAMS)/ ArtWorks vocal ensemble. His achievement reached a new high when he was invited to be one of two Music Settlement students to attend the five-week Berklee College of Music’s Summer Performance Program in Boston. This provides him with the tuition for this unique program in which he will be immersed with 900 other students from around the world, participating in intensive music studies with first-class faculty at one of the premiere collegiate music programs in the world.
Elias (Eli) Manos first came to The Music Settlement five years ago, after having received music therapy services provided by Ronna Kaplan, Director of The Settlement’s Department of Music Therapy in his preschool classroom. Through music therapy intervention, he has worked on social skills and self-expression, both individually and in small group settings, with Lori Lundeen Smith, Assistant Director of the Department of Music Therapy, as well as with other department therapists. From the first day he came to the Settlement, Eli, who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, has worked hard to refine his outstanding musical gifts, both as a performer and as a composer. After a year of music therapy, he began to study with Music Settlement theory and composition instructor Chris Auerbach-Brown, and is now working on a composition for symphony orchestra. Eli also studies classical guitar at The Music Settlement with Jon Fitzgerald, and was a Settlement Music Builders camper for four consecutive summers. Although he is only 13, he is already a veteran musician who performs regularly and builds connections through his efforts. Truly a musician with diverse interests, he and a friend from Music Builders Camp meet to jam in “garage band” rock style in Lori Smith’s music therapy studio. He is the accompanist for the Singing Angels of Greater Cleveland’s Junior Chorus, a group of children and young adults from across the area, and is playing keyboard in the pit band for Fairmount Theatre’s summer production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. This summer, Eli also participated in our Jazz Summer Camp which, like many of The Music Settlement’s programs, encourages inclusion of students with special needs into general programming. He worked alongside other young musicians and, as the keyboard player, often carried the core of the melody for the ensemble. As he has done in the past, Eli displayed outstanding musicianship and interaction with the group, and was accepted as one of the stars of the program by all who participated.
Yanka Chanenka, aged 22, has been a part of the Early Childhood (EC) Department since he was four years old. He participated in Music Builders, The Music Settlement’s venerable summer arts enrichment camp, for eight years. During that time he learned to play the violin, piano, and bandura (a harp-like instrument). He also studied ballet and excelled academically throughout lower and upper school, graduating with a 3.74 grade point average and receiving a four-year Presidential Scholarship to Loyola College in Maryland. That alone would be an impressive record, vividly reflecting the outstanding boost our EC program gives its students. But there’s more. Throughout his 22 years, Yanka felt it important to give back to The Music Settlement by working to ensure that more of our very young got off to the same great start as he did. For eight of the last 11 years, Yanka has come back to The Music Settlement to work as a summer camp counselor. By the end of this summer he will have worked in four different camps, including the department of Music Therapy’s adult development Musical Theatre Camp. Additionally, he has spent more than five years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Yanka will tell you that The Music Settlement has given him an intellectual gift as well as a musical gift throughout his many years on our campus. I would add that he has developed an altruistic gift as well - that of giving much more than you get.
The Future: Jonathan, Eli, Yanka, and thousands of others over the past 97 years represent the future at The Music Settlement. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to impacting the whole person, family, and community by offering more than just a quality lesson or session. We will also continue to reach out to all who can benefit from our commitment, not just to those who can afford it. We will seek to partner with organizations, centers, and individuals who can help us reach those with the greatest need, who can supplement and enhance our strengths and match our commitment and principles. We will endeavor to continuously improve our campus, facilities, and programming to best serve the needs and interests of our community. We will talk to you, listen to you, and work with you. We will not be quiet, we will not be timid, and we will not let you down.
We believe.
Should we speak in terms of accomplishments, of impacts made and goals achieved? In the past year, The Music Settlement has built upon the momentum that began with the completion of our strategic plan. In the four areas identified in the plan as action steps, we stayed on timeline and produced significant results that reinforce our commitment to the plan as a living document that does not gather dust on the shelf. Highlights of the plan include comprehensive governance reform spearheaded by the Board’s Governance Committee, full-scale rebranding efforts impacting every aspect of our internal and external message, and ongoing facility evaluation that will result in a master plan for the campus going forward. Our strategic plan is truly our roadmap for the future that guides us every day, in everything we do.
Should we cite our operational achievements in the face of overwhelming challenges? While the numbers from the just-completed year are not yet complete, the picture that emerges is truly laudable. We finished 2009 with our earned revenues higher than in 2008, despite the unprecedented economic downturn, and we appear to be headed towards a break-even bottom line. This was accomplished while protecting the current employee base, preserving benefits and wages at the 2008 level, and keeping programs and offerings at the levels originally planned. No matter how you look at it, this is a major victory for the organization in a time when many of our peers have suffered deep cuts, program terminations, and layoffs.
Or perhaps we should let others speak for our record in the past year. We were nominated for an Award of Achievement by Northern Ohio Live for our fundraising event, Diaspora of the Drum featuring Savion Glover, and we received the highest level of award and certification from Step Up to Quality, Ohio’s voluntary rating system for child care programs licensed by the state’s Department of Job and Family Services. Our Director of Music Therapy, Ronna Kaplan, became President-Elect of the National Music Therapy Association, and several members of her staff were honored with offices, publications and awards for their outstanding work. Our brand-new Jazz and American Music Program in the Department of Music earned acceptance as a member of the Berklee College of Music’s prestigious City Music Network. These and many other examples remind us of the value placed on The Music Settlement by our community and by the country.
I think the best measure of our efforts in 2009, though, is not in accolades, dollars, or our own hard work; it’s found in how we impact the lives of those who seek us out.
Over the past year, I have challenged the staff, faculty, and therapists of The Music Settlement to define our philosophy of education - what principles overarch our efforts in every educational department and what guides our decisions as administrators. Here is the result:
At The Music Settlement, we believe in people – in who they are and in who they can become. We believe the arts enrich you, your family, and your community. Every day at The Music Settlement, we make a difference throughout Cleveland and Northeast Ohio…. because we believe.
These are not just words - this is what we do. They are a charge and a pledge. Simple and to the point, this statement frames what we do today, tomorrow, and into the future, echoing throughout our history and resonating as we move forward. Let me illustrate with a few of our stories.
The past: Many of you were thrilled and moved by the recently released film, The Soloist, which tells the heart-rending story of Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted artist who studied at The Music Settlement in the 1960’s before the onset of mental illness drove him into a life of homelessness and pain from which music seemed to be his only release. The film briefly touched upon Nathaniel’s relationship with his instructor at The Music Settlement, Harry Barnoff. Harry’s long career as an instructor here was defined not only by his outstanding musicianship and pedagogy, but by his commitment to mentoring those who studied with him. Harry cared about Nathaniel the person, and made every effort to guide his fragile student to choices that would best suit him, even if for Nathaniel it meant foregoing study at the prestigious Julliard School. The heartbreak of the story is deepened by Nathaniel’s disregard for the guidance Harry offered, but their shared history did not stop there. To this day, Harry stays in contact with Nathaniel, offering an open ear to a man half a continent away whose greatest need beyond musical accomplishment is a caring heart. Harry’s true legacy is measured not by his artistic talent, but by his belief in his fellow man.
The present: There are many examples I can give you of the difference we are making right now in the lives of young people, but let me focus on just a few that represent the breadth of our efforts.
Jonathan Thomas is a relatively new student at The Music Settlement. He started out as a member of the Settlement Jazz Orchestra a couple of years ago. A keyboardist with talent that belies his 16 years, Jonathan was recognized early on for his musical gifts. But he also had the opportunity at The Music Settlement to grow both in responsibility and in his world view. He was awarded a full scholarship to the first year of the Jazz @ The Settlement summer program last year. He continued to study with instructors Eric Gould and Jackie Warren throughout the school year and has spent this summer as a Department of Music intern and accompanist for the summer Jazz @ The Settlement (JAMS)/ ArtWorks vocal ensemble. His achievement reached a new high when he was invited to be one of two Music Settlement students to attend the five-week Berklee College of Music’s Summer Performance Program in Boston. This provides him with the tuition for this unique program in which he will be immersed with 900 other students from around the world, participating in intensive music studies with first-class faculty at one of the premiere collegiate music programs in the world.
Elias (Eli) Manos first came to The Music Settlement five years ago, after having received music therapy services provided by Ronna Kaplan, Director of The Settlement’s Department of Music Therapy in his preschool classroom. Through music therapy intervention, he has worked on social skills and self-expression, both individually and in small group settings, with Lori Lundeen Smith, Assistant Director of the Department of Music Therapy, as well as with other department therapists. From the first day he came to the Settlement, Eli, who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, has worked hard to refine his outstanding musical gifts, both as a performer and as a composer. After a year of music therapy, he began to study with Music Settlement theory and composition instructor Chris Auerbach-Brown, and is now working on a composition for symphony orchestra. Eli also studies classical guitar at The Music Settlement with Jon Fitzgerald, and was a Settlement Music Builders camper for four consecutive summers. Although he is only 13, he is already a veteran musician who performs regularly and builds connections through his efforts. Truly a musician with diverse interests, he and a friend from Music Builders Camp meet to jam in “garage band” rock style in Lori Smith’s music therapy studio. He is the accompanist for the Singing Angels of Greater Cleveland’s Junior Chorus, a group of children and young adults from across the area, and is playing keyboard in the pit band for Fairmount Theatre’s summer production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. This summer, Eli also participated in our Jazz Summer Camp which, like many of The Music Settlement’s programs, encourages inclusion of students with special needs into general programming. He worked alongside other young musicians and, as the keyboard player, often carried the core of the melody for the ensemble. As he has done in the past, Eli displayed outstanding musicianship and interaction with the group, and was accepted as one of the stars of the program by all who participated.
Yanka Chanenka, aged 22, has been a part of the Early Childhood (EC) Department since he was four years old. He participated in Music Builders, The Music Settlement’s venerable summer arts enrichment camp, for eight years. During that time he learned to play the violin, piano, and bandura (a harp-like instrument). He also studied ballet and excelled academically throughout lower and upper school, graduating with a 3.74 grade point average and receiving a four-year Presidential Scholarship to Loyola College in Maryland. That alone would be an impressive record, vividly reflecting the outstanding boost our EC program gives its students. But there’s more. Throughout his 22 years, Yanka felt it important to give back to The Music Settlement by working to ensure that more of our very young got off to the same great start as he did. For eight of the last 11 years, Yanka has come back to The Music Settlement to work as a summer camp counselor. By the end of this summer he will have worked in four different camps, including the department of Music Therapy’s adult development Musical Theatre Camp. Additionally, he has spent more than five years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. Yanka will tell you that The Music Settlement has given him an intellectual gift as well as a musical gift throughout his many years on our campus. I would add that he has developed an altruistic gift as well - that of giving much more than you get.
The Future: Jonathan, Eli, Yanka, and thousands of others over the past 97 years represent the future at The Music Settlement. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to impacting the whole person, family, and community by offering more than just a quality lesson or session. We will also continue to reach out to all who can benefit from our commitment, not just to those who can afford it. We will seek to partner with organizations, centers, and individuals who can help us reach those with the greatest need, who can supplement and enhance our strengths and match our commitment and principles. We will endeavor to continuously improve our campus, facilities, and programming to best serve the needs and interests of our community. We will talk to you, listen to you, and work with you. We will not be quiet, we will not be timid, and we will not let you down.
We believe.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Here, where the world is quiet
I’m back from a week off and need to catch up on things a bit! But first, an editorial…
I just spent a week away from work and out of town and, because of a couple of odd circumstances, found myself cut off from the rest of the world. Work, news, e-mail, voicemail, smoke signals, you name it, I was out of the loop. At first it was a little disconcerting (“Michael Jackson died? You’re kidding, right?”), but then I found it truly therapeutic. That’s not to say I was ignoring responsibilities or avoiding the outside world, I was really just focusing on a narrow bandwidth of tasks and taking the time to decompress a bit.
What is a vacation if your job goes with you? For that matter, what is a golf game or a visit with friends or an hour or two working in your garden if you are constantly “in touch?” We all need to allow ourselves down time - an opportunity to engage in a favorite hobby, pastime or exercise without interruptions or distractions. There only seem to be a few places left where we turn our eyes and ears away from our phones, blackberries or computers to really listen and experience the moment. Even in those sacrosanct moments, you can still be connected if you happen to be an avid and stealthy texter (is that a real word?). And all of those examples tend to be dictated by outside forces; when we ourselves are the ones in charge, we can’t seem to resist the latest celebrity sighting or call from someone we talked to 20 minutes ago. I truly fear for our collective sanity if we no longer desire to be alone with ourselves and the people most important to us. If that means you miss my blog a couple of times, then by all means do so - to your own self be true.
There are many great things happening on and around our Magnolia Drive campus this month: several of our camps wind up in the next week or two, and several more begin. ArtWorks continues through the end of this month with daily music and art offerings happening all over, from Wade Oval to our own Glick Recital Hall. Stop by during the day and hear the terrific Jazz @ The Settlement Orchestra rehearsing - they are awesome! Wade Oval Wednesdays (WOW!) continue throughout the summer with great food, terrific music, and other attractions. In my own neighborhood, the Coventry Street Fair returns for its second date this summer on July 16th from 6pm to 9pm, which is a great and unique event. Many other local institutions have summer fun events going on, including the reopened galleries at the Museum of Art, and the wonderful Children’s Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. Jump on your bike, turn off your cell phone and experience a summer full of music, art and long lasting memories.
You can text your friends about it when you get back home…
Have a great week!
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