Where do you like to go?
A community music collaboration
WHAT: A collaborative project between Classical Uprising, composer Judd Greenstein, and Reiche Community School that explores place, identity, and the future of Maine. The project will culminate in a full-length musical work using student writing prompts to form the text.
HOW: In fall 2023, Dr. Emily Isaacson worked with 4th and 5th grade teachers and students on a series of writing projects that ask “Where do you like to go?” as an accessible starting point for conversations on place and belonging.
In winter and spring 2024, Judd Greenstein came to Portland for composer residencies. Greenstein, Isaacson, and students shared their writings and curated texts into a libretto that creates a layered and nuanced portrait of Greater Portland. Greenstein presented initial musical ideas to which students provided feedback on draft compositions. Between residencies, students drafted production materials (album imagery, liner notes, etc.) and have documented the artistic process through photos, videos, and interviews.
In June 2024, Greenstein and students shared their progress in a community presentation; students presented their artist statement, production materials, and timeline of the artistic process in one of Portland Bach Experience’s festivals, the Carnival Concert at Reiche Elementary. The festival was a huge success, gathering a crowd of more than 100 people, and the elementary schoolers supported each other as they shared their artistic process and where they would like to go, danced to classical music, and marched with the puppets and floats. Greenstein and Portland Bach Experience interns extended the prompt to the rest of the community, asking them where they like to go in Maine, what it’s like living in Maine, and what it’s like to be a kid or parent.
In fall 2024, the Oratorio Chorale will workshop Greenstein’s compositional fragments. Oratorio Chorale will then premiere the work in May 2025 alongside an exhibit containing student materials.
WHY: 50 years ago, when Oratorio Chorale, Classical Uprising’s symphonic choir, was founded, Maine was rural, sparsely populated, and 98% white. Since then, Maine’s population has increased by 40% and today only 61% of residents identify as white. Reiche Community School is a microcosm of today’s state: families come from more than 22 nations and speak 29 languages. In this project, Classical Uprising will leverage its resources and network to support Reiche’s educational goals, build connections across Maine communities, and reflect the current and future face of Maine while providing audiences with engaging arts experiences rooted in values of diversity, transparency, and creativity.
WHO: Classical Uprising + Reiche Community School
Emily Isaacson – Artistic Director
Judd Greenstein – Composer
Reiche Community School
Mx. Bliss' Fourth Grade Class
Mr. Donahue's Fourth Grade Class
Ms. Perry's Fourth Grade Class
Ms. Murray's Fourth Grade Class
Ms. Scott's Fourth Grade Class
Ms. Blayne's Fifth Grade Class
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Judd Greenstein is a composer and advocate for the independent new music community in the US and around the world. His works for standout groups such as Roomful of Teeth, NOW Ensemble, and yMusic have reached global audiences and received widespread critical acclaim. As a founder of New Amsterdam Records and the Ecstatic Music Festival, Judd has been a leading voice in developing a genre-fluid musical infrastructure that endeavors to open new channels of participation and representation in contemporary music. Judd’s music teaches its language as it tells a story, with clear musical ideas coalescing into rich structures and tapestries of sound. Much of Judd’s work is built on the contrasts and juxtapositions between the jittery, competing pulses of the New York City streets where he grew up, and the placid landscapes of the rural farmland he now calls home.
SEE THE WORK FOR YOURSELF!
Thank you to our project partners and funders:
