(9.28) It’s here and it is amazing. For the first time, Community MusicWorks (CMW) will have a permanent home base for young musicians, a hub for community performance, and a center for artists and musicians to develop their creative practice. CMW invites the public to join them this Saturday when they throw a Grand Opening Block Party! And it’s free. This new community and music center can be found on Westminster Street at the corner of Dexter Street, across from the Dexter Parade Grounds.
Don’t miss these events:
2pm: Building tours
3pm: Kick-off parade and world premiere performance of composer Wang Lu’s Fabric
3:30 pm: Food trucks arrive
4:30 pm: MusicWorks Collective reprise performance
5pm: More building tours and dancing!
Featured on the program is Wang Lu’s composition Fabric, written especially for this event, which will be performed by the MusicWorks Collective and CMW students in four dynamic movements. The first features a short musical march down the block from the old CMW storefront to the CMW Center. The performance continues inside with a “tuning up” as students and faculty perform throughout the three floors of the building so that music fills the spaces with harmony and celebration. For the final movement, we’ll invite our CMW students to gather in the Performance Hall to hear their teachers perform and become the very first audience members in the new space!
About CMW: Instrument lessons are at the heart of the CMW youth program. Resident musicians teach individual and group lessons in violin, viola, and cello during after-school hours.
Students perform for a diverse community of parents, neighbors, supporters and musicians at Performance parties. Teens in the program are eligible for Phase II, a leadership development program.
The MusicWorks Collective is CMW’s ensemble-in-residence; they perform music from Bach to 21st-century compositions in venues ranging from concert halls to corner taquerias. Think how excited they must be to be performing the new 100-seat, “acoustically sublime” Performance Hall.
This all happened through the guidance and hard work of founder and artistic director, Sebastian Ruth, whose unique vision and accomplishments were recognized in 2010 with a MacArthur Award.
What a fantastic addition to the neighborhood and the city. And the entire state . . . even Westerly!
Take a tour and learn more about the new CMW Center here.
Free Block Party, CMW Center, 2pm to 7pm, Saturday, September 28, 1326 Westminster Street, (directions)
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The building features much of this beautiful honey-colored wood. Materials were not only selected for acoustic qualities, but also evaluated to minimize the presence of toxins known to contribute to childhood disease.
