Artist observations
Artists on the roster observe each other and provide feedback on the work
they’ve seen, either by filling out a form, sharing written responses, or
arranging a phone discussion with a staff member and/or the observed artist.
Artist roster
The musicians—chosen through a rigorous selection process that includes a
written application, live auditions, and interviews—who bring Musical
Connections to life through performances and interactions at host venues.
Artists may be singers, instrumentalists, or members of an ensemble.
Coordinating presenter
The organization—for example, Carnegie Hall—that creates the Musical
Connections program and is responsible for administering the program—selecting participating venues and managing venue
relationships, assembling an artist roster, managing artists, designing
programs, and so on.
Host venue
An institutional setting—hospitals, prisons, juvenile detention facilities,
senior care facilities, and so on—where Musical Connections work takes place.
Learning community
A core group comprising artists and staff of the coordinating presenter, who
are not only planning Musical Connections and designing programs, but also are
engaged in an active process of assessment, evaluation, and sharing, with the
goal of improving and deepening the work.
Mid-year conversations
with artists
Feedback sessions with each artist/ensemble held
midway through each year to provide musicians feedback on their performances
and to hear questions and observations from them about their work.
Operational evaluation
A tracking process designed to help staff document what it takes to implement
the program well and to develop thorough and efficient ways of making a complex
program run smoothly.
Participants
Those who reside or are confined to host venues and who comprise the target
population for Musical Connections programs and creative workshops.
Participating venue
See host venue.
Professional development
Workshops and other forms of training designed to support Musical Connections
artists and train them for this specific work. Professional development, most
often in workshop format, teaches artists about the unconventional environments
they are entering and helps them develop techniques for engaging and involving the
variety of populations whom Musical Connections programming serves.
Programs
A Musical Connections program can be anything from a single performance to a
long-term partnership with a host venue.
Program scope and design are dependent on many factors including the needs of
the host venue, the in-house resource
of the coordinating presenter, and
the availability of staff and artists to implement programs.
Roster
See artist roster.
Stakeholders
Everyone involved in Musical Connections—participants,
clinical and administrative staff of the host
venue and the coordinating presenter,
artists, government and social service agencies, and so on.
Threshold-to-threshold
The idea, essential to Musical Connections, that programs at host venues are
not confined to a stage, but rather begin the moment the artists enter the
facility and do not end until the moment they leave.
360° impact
The work of Musical Connections impacts everyone involved and is
collaboratively planned, from the coordinating
presenter’s staff, to the artists, the host
venue’s staff, and the participants.
Venue
The facilities at which Musical Connections programs take place. Carnegie
Hall’s programs take place in four types of settings: hospitals, juvenile
detention facilities, prisons, and senior care centers. (See also host venue.)
Venue observations
A preliminary, impressionistic appraisal of the host venue where Musical
Connections will take place. This step can take many forms—sitting in on an
existing workshop or staff meeting; casual interactions with residents over a
meal; touring the facility with a member of staff or a resident; sitting in the
lobby and watching day-to-day routine; and so on.