In Order to Flourish: Musical Pathways, Opportunities to Build and Questions to Ask
This document sketches out the processes that support — and challenge — young musicians seeking to enter the field of classical music, from early childhood through young adult professional lives.
The Socioemotional Benefits of the Arts: A New Mandate for Arts Education
New research, commissioned by the William Penn Foundation and conducted by WolfBrown and Johns Hopkins University, examines the impact and potential benefits of the arts on students and suggests that participation in the arts supports the development of specific traits that can help students achieve future success. The study also explores students’ engagement in school in relation to their access to arts education.
Assessing the Audience Impact of Choral Music Concerts
Chorus America, the nation’s advocacy, research, and leadership development organization for the choral field, engaged with WolfBrown to design a 2-year study investigating the intrinsic impacts of choral music. With participation from 23 choirs across North America, we surveyed over 14,000 audience members at 136 concert programs. To our knowledge, this is the first national study of audiences for live choral music concerts, and the first attempt to systematically assess the impact of choral concerts on audiences. The full report is available for download.
Headline Findings from the U.S. National El Sistema Study
Longy School of Music of Bard College and WolfBrown present headline findings from the first-ever cross-site investigation of the ways in which orchestral learning affects young children’s lives. In this report, we highlight key early findings, report on data collection, and discuss next steps in the collaboration.
Community MusicWorks: Community-Centric Concert Series Evaluation
Can classical music concerts strengthen neighborhoods? In this report, made possible by funding from ArtPlace America, Chloë Kline and Dennie Wolf examine the power of music to create and support more cohesive urban communities — a vital role in cities that host widening gaps in wealth and opportunity. The full report is available for download here.
Community MusicWorks Fellows Program Evaluation
Dennie Wolf and colleagues at Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, share innovative approaches to tracking the impact of fellowships and networks that support young classical musicians in developing careers at the intersection of: 1) musical excellence, 2) community engagement, and 3) social justice. The full report, We Are Each Other’s Magnitude and Bond: An Evaluation of Community MusicWorks’ Extending Our Reach Initiative (April 2016), is available for download.
Our Voices Count: The Potential Impact of Strength-Based Music Programs in Juvenile Justice Settings
Wolfbrown took on an evaluation of the impact of ensemble choral music-making on young people living in one of the most uncertain and stressful environments: the juvenile justice system.
Why Making Music Matters
Dennie Wolf, working with musicians and staff at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, has published a booklet for families, “Why Making Music Matters”. The publication outlines what research tells us about how live music enriches the lives of families and young children.
Building Capacity for Audience Research
In 2012, the Performing Arts Program of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation extended an invitation to a group of its grantees to participate in a multi-year program to build capacity for audience research. Over a period of two and a half years, a WolfBrown team led by Rebecca Ratzkin provided customized technical assistance to 46 grantees. Building Capacity for Audience Research candidly distills lessons learned from the ARC initiative for other funders who’d contemplate investing in the capacity of their grantees to gather and interpret audience data.
Music & Health Care
