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The Music program at Curry College recently launched a new fall season of creative programming called “PLAY: Serious. Fun.” The new series, which celebrates the power of musical play to build community, to enhance personal health and well-being, and to catalyze social change, comprises varied events which will be open to all members of the Curry community. Featuring both face-to-face (or mask-to-mask) and virtual events, the series aims to ignite excitement, to spark creative expression, and to bring faculty, staff, students, and members of the greater Boston community together through the arts.
“In challenging times like those we’re facing now, creative expression is more important than ever,” contends Assistant Professor of Music Emily Howe. “It’s so easy to feel isolated in our ‘new normal,’ but musical play provides us with a platform for joy-filled engagement with the arts and with one another. In the Music program this semester, we’re striving to showcase the radical potential of musical play to bring people together and facilitate a sense of belonging. And, by centering diverse global and local musical practices in our programming, we aim to enable our community to listen to and learn from the world at a time when travel is not possible. Finally, by inviting distinguished guest artists to share their talents and ideas with our community, we’ll introduce students to varied possibilities and career pathways in the arts.”
Events, which will be hosted via Zoom and outside the Student Center, will include:
- Listen to the world in our weekly PLAYLIST series, a platform for members of the Curry community to share playlists from diverse global contexts. The next event is Wednesday, September 9 at 11:45 a.m. outside the Student Center - come listen and dance while Professor Grant Burrier DJs a set!
- Share your talent at PLAY IT, a monthly open mic night launching on Friday, September 11 at 5:00 p.m
- Learn from the masters during ARTISTS at PLAY, a monthly guest artist series featuring workshops and talks from scholars and artists who are using musical play to change the world – and transforming the way we work and make music in the process.
The first guest artist of the season will be Brazilian percussionist and founder of Grooversity Marcus Santos, who will discuss his organization’s social change efforts and will lead Sing!, Curry’s choral ensemble, in a Brazilian drumming workshop at 4:15 p.m. on Monday, September 21.
Outside of these featured events, keep your eyes (and ears!) open for other creative performances outside this semester. Howe and other faculty in the Music program are also planning to host their courses and practices outside in the new tent spaces and other parts of campus. Private music instruction will now be held in the Gazebo near the Kennedy building while other courses and programs may be featured on the athletics fields or within the new tents including the College’s Sing! Choral Ensemble.
For the latest information about the Music program’s upcoming events, visit @MusicAtCurryCollege on Facebook.