Columbus Symphony to Collaborate with Cleveland and Cincinnati Orchestras for MINDFUL MUSIC MOMENTS

Members of the Columbus Symphony will come together with members of The Cleveland Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to virtually perform an innovative work commissioned by The Well, a non-profit organization that stewards the Mindful Music Moments program sponsored in Columbus by the Columbus Symphony. Influenced by feedback from students who participate in Mindful Music Moments, the 12-minute, innovative new work composed by Dr. Brian Raphael Nabors will be the first collaborative performance of all three orchestras. It will be played in schools over four weeks in May as part of Mindful Music Moments and in a virtual premiere at 7 pm on Thursday, June 10, via the Facebook channels of all three orchestras. Each symphony will perform one movement of the work and participate in the final movement. This is the second commission by Dr. John and Susan Tew for Mindful Music Moments.

Mindful Music Moments, a daily mindfulness and classical music program that promotes student focus, has been underwritten by the Columbus Symphony and made available for all Columbus City Schools and central Ohio pre-schools free of charge. Created and facilitated by The Well, the program has been implemented in 260 schools daily (229 in Ohio) in partnership with the three Ohio symphonies. K-12 students who participate in the program will influence Dr. Nabors' composition with short responses about what they think the piece should sound and feel like. Nabors will then compose the short, four-movement work for string quartet.

Mindful Music Moments, a daily mindfulness and classical music program that promotes student focus, has been underwritten by the CSO and made available to all Columbus City Schools and central Ohio pre-schools free of charge. Currently, 30 schools and 9 pre-schools have implemented the program, reaching more than 15,900 children.

"I very much look forward to being inspired by all of the submissions from students in our Ohio schools," stated Nabors. "I know embedded within is a deep love of art and their community. I can think of no better artistic representation than that of our Ohio partner orchestras. I can already feel the sense of pride the students in these cities will radiate with when hearing their orchestra represent the community they love. With this piece, I hope to encapsulate a deep love of home for all who listen."

Additionally, there will be a short film to document the process by Cincinnati filmmaker Asa Featherstone. The film will be available on Thursday, June 10, at 7 pm on all three orchestras' Facebook pages. It will also be made available on a new Wellness Channel for patients at UC Health, Greater Cincinnati's Academic Health System, a program by The Well in partnership with UC Health Center for Health and Wellness, also supported by Dr. John and Susan Tew.

The first commission supported by Dr. John and Susan Tew took place in 2018 with Brian Raphael Nabors and Max Raphael working with Cincinnati's Music Resource Center's youth. They created two compositions for Mindful Music Moments' 2018-19 playlist. The first theme was "Music as Medicine" and the second was "One Giant Leap."

www.columbussymphony.com

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