Maine Perspective Front Page
School of Performing Arts, Bangor Symphony Launch Operation Harmony
A cooperative venture in education and "great music, live" will be inaugurated in 1999 by the University of Maine's School of Performing Arts and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Joining in "Operation Harmony," the School of Performing Arts and the BSO will sponsor a new graduate program in music. The degree program is designed to attract top student string players to the University.
"The University of Maine is excited and pleased to be working closely with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in the training of outstanding string instrumentalists," said Rebecca Eilers, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "It is a natural collaboration borne out of shared excellence and a desire to serve the citizens of the state of Maine. We expect this exciting opportunity will attract talented young musicians from all over the U.S."
Four student musicians, selected in a nationwide search, will receive free tuition and a stipend as the School of Performing Arts Graduate String Quartet and as members of the string section of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. The quartet will also perform off campus under the banners of both the BSO and the School of Performing Arts, traveling to public schools and rural areas of Maine where live music performances are infrequent. Each outreach performance includes an in-school education component for children, coordinated with the school's music teacher, and a public performance for adults.
Other educational elements make up the joint venture. A paid internship will be established for a UMaine graduate student or senior music major to join the Bangor Symphony Orchestra staff. Though work with the BSO's executive director and board committees, the student will receive experience in arts management, with an emphasis on community education. A representative from the School of Performing Arts music faculty will also serve on the BSO's program committee. As the education program develops, it will address the needs of rural areas, retirement communities and other venues outside the concert hall.
"Much attention has rightly been given recently to the University of Maine's important role in improving the research and development capacity in the state," said Scott Delcourt, director of the University of Maine Graduate School. "However, it is important to note that UMaine offers 22 doctoral degrees and over 50 master's degrees in the arts and sciences, engineering, education, and a variety of professional programs. The partnership between the School of Performing Arts and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra speaks to the broad variety of exciting collaborations that exist between UMaine, the local community and beyond."
Applications for the four graduate positions in Operation Harmony will be reviewed by representatives from the music faculty of the School of Performing Arts and by Christopher Zimmerman, BSO artistic director and conductor. Finalists will come to the University for live auditions in spring 1999.