In February 2008, approximately 600 students from Walter C. Polson School, Madison, and Benjamin Jepson School, New Haven, will take part in two week long residencies exploring music and meditation. The residencies will each encompass one week of events featuring Korean musician and composer Jin Hi Kim, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra string quartet, and master meditation teachers Paul Bloom and Mark Seibold. The guest artists will visit the schools, teach 6 th and 7 th grade students the fundamentals of meditation, and introduce them to the diverse worlds of Korean and orchestral music. At the conclusion of each week, each school will host a multi-media concert featuring all the guest artists and students performing and meditating side-by-side.

With successful completion of the 2008 residency, the NHSO will develop the music and meditation concept into a multi-faceted festival lasting a minimum of 4 weeks, taking place in 2009. The 2009 festival will help students develop extended meditation practice, involve student musicians in side by side performances with the NHSO, incorporate a full length NHSO Symphony Series concert at Woolsey Hall featuring music and meditation, and the commissioning of a new work(s) for complete orchestra. Extensive analysis of student’s progress and impact on academic performance will be also be part of the festival.

Goals:

• Introduce 600 students to meditation practices
• Inspire students through creative adaptations of the school curriculum
• Introduce participants to traditional Asian instruments used in meditation practices
• Promote Asian cultural understanding through collaboration between Eastern and Western cultures
• Provide an entry point to orchestral music for new audiences
• Promote music appreciation through opportunities to attend NHSO performances
• Provide opportunities for the Greater New Haven and Shoreline arts communities to make connections

Benefits:

• Increased self-awareness and stress-relief with continued practice of meditation
• Tolerance through increased awareness of other cultures
• Heightened enthusiasm for learning among middle school students
• Deeper connections between the NHSO and the Greater New Haven and Shoreline arts communities
• The ability to build on local and regional partnerships in future project planning
• Extensive media coverage, (TV, radio, newsprint, industry magazines, web), throughout the region and beyond. 
• Positive participant reaction - The NHSO, in partnership will devise an appropriate audience/participant survey which will provide a full evaluation of the project.  The survey will be analyzed, disseminated to our partners and funders and made available on our website.

NHSO Music and Meditation Residency

February 2008

Featured Guest Artists: Korean Musician/Composer Jin Hi Kim (see biography right)

Komungo and Electric Komungo with Visual Component

Master Meditation Teachers Paul Bloom and Mark Seibold

NHSO String Quartet

Dates: Monday – Friday; February 4 – 8, 2008: Polson School, Madison

Monday – Friday; February 11-15, 2008: Jepson School, New Haven

Education Component:

• Meditation teachers visit each school to teach meditation techniques to students. Each group of students is visited twice.
• Meditation visits are followed by program with Jin Hi Kim and NHSO string quartet featuring traditional and improvisatory performances, combining meditation with music.
• Lectures on the science of meditation and music by Dr. Sujata Prasad.

Final Performances:

• Group Meditation Demonstrations for entire student body
• Group performances by Jin Hi Kim and NHSO musicians coupled with video and group meditation.