Brooklyn's Progress
June 2003

Mr. Wiprud has dedicated much of his life to sharing this passion with others through these many channels. Of course, you should expect nothing less from a man who considers music to be the most intensely direct form of communication known on Earth.

"[Music] has the unique ability to be the emotion, rather than simply represent it," he says.

This sort of approach to music has made Mr. Wiprud a natural fit with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Originally a native of Washington D.C., Mr. Wiprud has become deeply involved in community affairs since moving to the borough more than a decade ago. During this time, he has gained notoriety as a leading music educator and champion of contemporary music through his work at the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra and Meet The Composer. He has also directed the Commissioning Music/USA partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), an important program that helps bring important young voices to the fore of the music world. And as if this were not enough, Mr. Wiprud is also an established composer and independent concert producer.

Since being appointed the Brooklyn Philharmonic's first ever director of education and community engagement in the summer of 2001, Mr. Wiprud has worked alongside the Philharmonic Music Director Robert Spano, board of directors and a special advisory council to develop a series of education and community engagement programs that best can best meet the needs of Brooklyn's diverse communities. Shortly after his selection, Mr. Wiprud joined in the strategic planning process being carried out by the Orchestra as it worked to establish a workable strategic model to help ensure both short and long-term success.

Using Maestro Spano's artistic vision as a platform, Mr. Wiprud, the board of directors and a group of outside specialists, devised a series of standards-based music education initiatives and multicultural community performances that thematically align with the concert hall repertoire, while providing vital services to all segments of New York City's most populous borough.

Brooklyn residents have already begun to feel the positive impact these programs are making in their public schools and community centers. Mr. Wiprud has successfully captured Maestro Spano's vision of the orchestra as a pillar of the community-a position very similar to his own-while drawing from his own vast experience as a music educator and community organizer to reinvigorate the Philharmonic's Partnerships for Music Education and Community Collaborations programs, and promote important new voices in the music world. Rather than just have students listen to music and learn fundamentals, Mr. Wiprud's programs enable them to become part of the music-making process.

This is Mr. Wiprud's true intent - to stimulate the mind and soul through music. His approach is to tear down the esoteric in order to make music accessible to all. This is wholly evident in regards to  the Brooklyn Philharmonic's School-Time Concerts, where this season, students will not only watch the orchestra perform Act I of Mozart's Così fan tutte, but they will also compose their own second act, drawing on what they have learned throughout the semester. Many other Philharmonic music education initiatives are also beginning to take shape under his steady guidance. Professional development opportunities are being offered to teachers and administrators throughout the borough, partnerships are being formed with entire school districts and residency initiatives are being implemented in a greater number of schools.

Mr. Wiprud has also played a central role in creating and presenting Music Off The Walls, a new chamber music series featuring Brooklyn Philharmonic ensemble performances that are tied to special exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. During the series' inaugural 2002-03 season, the Philharmonic featured music from the lands of Persia and Kashmir; musical voices stilled by the Holocaust and works reflecting on that tragedy; and pulp music from the American interwar years. These ensemble performances complemented some of the Brooklyn Museum's most critically acclaimed exhibits of the season. Beginning next season, Music Off The Walls will expand from three to four ticketed performances.

Performances such as these exemplify both Maestro Spano and Mr. Wiprud's approach to concert programming, where voices from many lands can be heard, disparate cultures united and formal settings dissipated, to create an intimate atmosphere that beckons diverse audiences of all ages, inviting them to connect more deeply with the music. The Philharmonic has also incorporated this approach into its now two-year old partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library, Music Off The Shelves, which features small ensemble performances and focused discussion groups.  Perhaps this is why the Philharmonic's education and community programs continue to thrive as they do.  "I try to use music as a springboard for deeper discussion of ideas outside of music," Mr. Wiprud says.

Many of the Brooklyn Philharmonic's current and future education and community programs find their genesis in some of Mr. Wiprud's previous projects, including his New Music for Schools, a program that commissions works from student ensembles at all levels, and New Residencies, in which he and Meet The Composer's founder John Duffy created a program that allows composers to work in community settings outside of the concert hall. This has resulted in the regular presence of musicians, guest artists and composers in classroom and community settings, giving students and audiences alike a first hand look at the world of music.

For more information on the Brooklyn Philharmonic's education and community engagement programs, you can log on to http://www.brooklynphilharmonic.org/, or call (718) 622-5555.

By Dave Schneider