Original Music Workshop Inc

TO DEVELOP A UNIQUE VENUE WHICH WILL PROVIDE COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS ACROSS GENRES A HOME IN WHICH THEY CAN FLOURISH, A SETTING WHERE THEY ARE GIVEN SUPPORT AND CRITICAL RESOURCES ESSENTIAL TO CREATE, AND THEN SHARE, THEIR WORK.

THE ORGANIZATION LAUNCHED NS DIGITAL STAGE WHEN PERFORMING ARTS VENUES CEASED LIVE PRODUCTIONS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC. 51 EVENTS WERE PRESENTED DURING THE YEAR. FEATURED ARTISTS INCLUDED SUE HASHIMOTO, ALICIA HALL MORAN, AND BROOKLYN RIDER. ALL DIGITAL PROGRAMS WERE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE. THE PREFORMING ARTISTS REPRESENTED WIDE RANGING AESTHETICS FROM ACROSS THE GENRE SPECTRUM INCLUDING JAZZ, OPERA, THEATER, DANCE, WESTERN CLASSICISM, WORLD MUSIC, ROCK, POP, AND HIP HOP. AUDIENCES RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO OUR DIGITAL STAGE WHICH HELPED THEM FEEL A CONNECTION WITH OTHERS AND BROADENED THEIR PERSPECTIVES AT A TIME OF GREAT DISTRESS. THE ORGANIZATION EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN ENGAGEMENT COMPARED TO PRIOR DIGITAL CONTENT EFFORTS, AND EXPECT AN INCREASE IN THESE METRICS AS THEY CONTINUE TO ENHANCE AND EXPAND DIGITAL CONTENT. SPECIFICALLY, FACEBOOK IMPRESSIONS INCREASED 63% TO 1.4 MILLION, INSTAGRAM IMPRESSIONS INCREASED 20% TO 714,000, FACEBOOK ENGAGEMENT RATE INCREASED 142% TO 5.8%, AND INSTAGRAM ENGAGEMENT RATE INCREASED 80% TO 3%.

THE ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM DID NOT PAUSE THROUGHOUT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN AND ENABLED ELEVEN ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE TO CREATE NEW WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH CHOREOGRAPHERS, COMPOSERS, AND FILMMAKERS FOR THE NS DIGITAL STAGE. THE ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE WERE LYNNE PROCOPE, MOLLY JOYCE, BRIANA MIMS, AMY HALL GARNER, MARISA MICHELSON, MIRIAM PARKER, ALICIA HALL MORAN, ALLISON LOGGINS-HULL, IZZI AND KATE EBERSTADT, AND JL MARLOR. THE ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE RECEIVED FINANCIAL AND CREATIVE SUPPORT TO CO-CREATE FILMS OF THEIR WORK THAT EXPANDED THE VIDEO FROM HOME FORMAT OF THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE PANDEMIC TO MADE-FOR-FILM PERFORMANCES AND/OR TO PRODUCE PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS EXPLORING THE INTERSECTIONS OF CULTURAL WORK, CREATIVITY, ACTIVISM, AND PERFORMANCE. THESE DIGITAL EVENTS REACHED OVER 8,100 VIEWERS - MORE THAN 8 TIMES THE NUMBER OF AUDIENCES REACHED IF EVERYTHING HAD TAKEN PLACE IN PERSON AT THE NS VENUE. IN RECOGNITION OF THIS TIME OF EXTREME SOCIAL ISOLATION, THE ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE WERE CONNECTED VIA ZOOM TO COHORTS OF COMPOSERS, CHOREOGRAPHERS, FILMMAKERS, POETS, AND ACTIVISTS THROUGHOUT THE RESIDENCY PERIOD. THESE COHORTS WERE COLLABORATIVELY ASSEMBLED BY NS STAFF IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARTISTS AND/OR THROUGH AN NS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CENTER FOR BALLET AND THE ARTS AT NYU. THE GOAL WAS TO FACILITATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS TO MAKE CREATIVE CONNECTIONS WITH PEERS THAT COULD INFORM WORK THEY ARE DEVELOPING DURING THE PANDEMIC OR THAT THEY MAY DEVELOP AFTER THE PANDEMIC. SELECT CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS WERE OPEN ONLY TO COHORT PARTICIPANTS, WHILE OTHERS WERE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE NS WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK.

IDEAS ZONE IS A DIGITAL-LIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM SPEARHEADED BY NS POET-IN-RESIDENCE LYNNE PROCOPE, A RENOWNED TRINIDADIAN AMERICAN POET. IDEAS ZONE FEATURES WRITTEN DISCOURSE, PODCASTS, FILMS, MASTER CLASSES, PLAYLISTS, AND LIVE CONVERSATIONS AND PERFORMANCES FEATURING ARTISTS, THOUGHT LEADERS, AND WRITERS. THE CONTENT DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE ARTS IN REGARDS TO GENDER DISPARITIES, RACIAL INEQUITIES, INCLUSION AND ACCESS, DISABILITIES AND OTHER SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. IDEAS ZONE FEATURED TWO LIVESTREAMED CONVERSATION SERIES: ACTIVE HOPE AND FIRE THIS TIME. ACTIVE HOPE IS A CONVERSATION AND PODCAST SERIES CO-HOSTED BY NS CO-FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, COMPOSER PAOLA PRESTINI AND THE ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP OF THE APOLLO THEATER AND THE KENNEDY CENTER - KAMILAH FORBES AND MARC BAMUTHI JOSEPH. THIS PARTNERSHIP IS DESIGNED TO STIMULATE PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT THE VITAL LEADERSHIP ROLE OF ARTISTS AND ARTS WORKERS IN SHAPING OUR COUNTRY'S RESPONSE TO ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE, IMMIGRATION, INCOME INEQUALITY, ANTI-RACISM, FREE EXPRESSION, PRISON REFORM, HEALTH CARE, AND HOUSING. FIRE THIS TIME IS A LIVE-STREAMED SERIES INSPIRED BY JAMES BALDWIN'S INFLUENCE AND HIS CONTINUED IMPACT VIA THE WORK, EXPERIMENTS, COLLABORATIONS, AND VITAL FUTURES IMAGINED BY THOSE BEARING HIS FLAME TODAY. HOSTED BY LYNNE PROCOPE, THE SERIES FEATURED CONVERSATIONS WITH MEMBERS OF THE RESISTANCE REVIVAL CHOIR, JESSICA CARE MOORE, PATRICK ROSAL, MARY ROSE GO, AND TOYIN SPELLMAN-DIAZ. NS ADDITIONALLY PUBLISHED SEVERAL ARTICLES ON THE IDEAS ZONE ADDRESSING ISSUES SUCH AS JAMES BALDWIN'S LEGACY, THE BLACK EXPERIENCE AND ECOLOGICAL ARTS IDEAS IN WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC, THE ECONOMY OF ARTS LABOR, DISABILITY ARTS, AND AFRO-INDIGENOUS MUSIC TRADITIONS. THE WRITERS INCLUDED ALVIN ENG, GARRETT MCQUEEN, TERRANCE MCKNIGHT, JENNIFER GERSTEN, BENEDICT NGUYEN, AND MARTHA REDBONE.THE IDEAS ZONE ALSO FEATURED FIVE CONVERSATION FORUMS ENCOMPASSING TOPICS RANGING FROM INDIGENOUS CREATIVITY AND DECOLONIZATION WITH RAVEN CHACON AND MARTHA REDBONE; CHOREOGRAPHY WITH LONI LANDON; HISTORICAL NARRATIVES, HEALING, AND ACTIVISM WITH INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST OKWUI OKPOKWASILI; AFRICAN AMERICAN COMPOSERS IN WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH JEFFREY MUMFORD AND MIRANDA CUCKSON; TO THE INTERSECTION OF TRANSGENDER IDENTITIES WITH ARTS WORKERS WITH BENEDICT NGUYEN, INTI FIGGIS-VIZUETA, KIYAN WILLIAMS, AND ZAN EMERSON. THERE WERE 2,271 VIEWERS FOR THESE CAREER DEVELOPMENT FORUMS.THREE BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEOS ABOUT ARTISTS' CREATIVE PROCESS FOR LIVE PERFORMANCE AND FOR FILM WERE CREATED AND SHARED WITH AUDIENCES VIA THE IDEAS ZONE TO PROVIDE FURTHER INSIGHTS INTO THE ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM. THE ARTISTS FEATURED IN THESE VIDEOS ARE DELUNE, ALICIA HALL MORAN AND ALLISON LOGGINS-HULL, MARISA MICHELSON, AND MIRIAM PARKER. THE AUDIENCE FOR THESE VIDEOS WAS 417 VIEWERS.