Community Arts Support Grant
ACHF Arts Access
The proposed opportunities will have been offered-concerts and auxiliary activities will have taken place as planned. Audience and participant surveys will indicate the effect activities had on the participants. School children, through their teachers, will have let us know what they learned. If we have new/additional people in our audiences as a result, it will indicate that their appreciation for chamber music has been enhanced. Sometimes we hear about results: once a young musician was coached in a master class, making immediate improvements in her playing, and she went on to win a competition shortly thereafter; another time a young child decided after hearing a Family Concert by a guitarist that he would take up the instrument, and he was still studying several years later. Outcomes such as these are always gratifying to hear but cannot easily be predicted. Providing opportunities for musical growth, however, can be guaranteed, and that is what we strive to do.We always collect anecdotal evidence at the concerts themselves; board members mingle with the audience and collect feedback. We also survey our audience periodically to get written feedback; in the coming year we will be increasing the number of surveys and will be asking more thoughtful questions. At schools, we seek feedback from teachers. At Whitney we have already added evaluation methods, which help track not only information useful to the Chamber Music Society but also information useful for Whitney Senior Center itself.
The Chamber Music Society has provided opportunities for enjoyment of chamber music performed by top-quality musicians, and has done educational activities to enhance people's understanding of chamber music. All concerts were on a high level of artistry. School visits, an in-depth three-day residency at Pine Meadow Elementary, and other outreach including Family Concerts, were of the same quality as formal concerts, and included information about instruments, repertoire, and other aspects of the program, plus chances for listeners to ask questions and meet the performers. Workshops and coaching sessions provided opportunities for advanced students and adult amateur musicians to learn from professionals and to improve their technical and interpretive skills. Visits to the senior center provided continuing education to older adults, as well as enabling them to hear great music at a familiar place, during the day, for minimal or no cost. Surveys and communications from representatives of the organizations we serve have provided means for evaluation of our programs. We always collect anecdotal evidence at the concerts themselves; board members mingle with the audience and collect feedback. We also survey our audience periodically to get written feedback; in the current year we have increased the number of surveys and are asking more thoughtful questions. At schools, we seek feedback from teachers. At Whitney we incorporate evaluation methods, which help track not only information useful to the Chamber Music Society but also information useful for Whitney Senior Center itself.
Other, local or private