COMMUNITY POST: The Mutual Benefits of Arts Partnerships Ignites Post-Pandemic Community Engagement in Cultural Life

By: Leslie Imse

Moving out of the pandemic the ebb and flow of the virus persists, causing arts organizations to create innovative practices for continued audience participation. Live music performances and in-person art shows came to a halt during the pandemic leaving many arts professionals clamoring to move past the despair of the situation and collaborate for engagement purposes. Arts professionals rallied to participate in conversations and established meaningful connections between their organizations. 

These institutions shifted their creativity into high gear, finding innovative ways to engage with the public. Music organizations sought outdoor venues in the fall, spring, and summer, while in the winter months virtual performances continued. Art museums created virtual programming including tours, lectures, new classes, and exhibitions. 

As a music educator, I reached out to the community and forged partnerships with local museums and organizations.The area museums were viable partners as they were not open to the public and in need of programming. Our school musicians performed lawn concerts at the local museums and recorded performances in their facilities to couple with museum online events. 

What Does a Meaningful Arts Partnership Look Like? 

A national historic landmark and museum in our town, the Stanley Whitman House, collaborated with the high school music program to create new museum programming under the direction of Executive Director, Andres Verzosa. My high school choir performed inside the museum (masked for safety) and Mr. Verzosa used the recordings to engage with  museum patrons and members. Other recordings were also posted on the museum website creating a community audience for our school musicians. Several months later, the choir recorded music with special messaging for grant proposals that Mr. Verzosa submitted through the Connecticut Humanities Grant Program sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.. Student musicians enjoyed performing for the museum patrons virtually, learning about the history of this landmark, integrating music to coincide with museum programming, and the executive director provided them with volunteer service.

Next year I plan to partner with the local museums again with a similar hybrid approach to performances. At the Stanley Whitman House, I plan to perform colonial songs during one of their fall outdoor events. In the winter, we will perform virtual programs recorded inside the museum to supplement their programming. In the spring, we plan to perform music of indigenous people who inhabited the same area around the historic home museum. 

What Are the Benefits of Arts Partnerships? 

These experiences teach students about how music can have a positive impact on people who wish to participate in their community’s cultural events. The lessons of the pandemic have forced us to forge strong relationships with school and local organizations where each stakeholder benefits from these new partnerships. This collaboration offered our student musicians opportunities that connected the humanities in novel ways to a historic museum in their community. The museums sustained their patronage with audience engagement in-person and at virtual events. These new possibilities for productive collaborations provided benefits for arts partners and also led to more and better opportunities for people to participate in cultural life.

Leslie Imse is the K-12 Music Department Chair for the Farmington Public Schools in Farmington, Connecticut.  Under her leadership the Farmington music department has been recognized with numerous performance and education awards. Most notably the town of Farmington was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education  and the CT Arts Administrators Association’s Excellence in Arts Education Award for the outstanding K-12 music program.

Leslie Imse is the recipient of several music and educational awards.  She was named Connecticut Choral Director of the Year by the CT American Choral Directors Association in 2005 and 2016. The Connecticut State Department of Education awarded her with the Celebration of Excellence in Education Award in 1989 and Teacher of the Year Award in 1992.  An active member in educational leadership, Leslie has served on the following Connecticut State Department of Education committees: 2020-2021 CT Arts Administrators COVID Task Force, Teacher Competency Standards, Arts Interdisciplinary Standards Committee, Model Curriculum in Arts Committee, Review Board of CT Music Standards and Portfolio scoring/TEAM reviewer. At the national level, she is an Advanced Placement Music Theory Reader for the College Board’s Educational Testing Services. Her article, Student-Centered Classrooms: Past Initiatives and Future Practices was published in NAfME’s Music Education Journal in the December 2016 issue.   

Under Mrs. Imse’s direction, her choirs have performed with the following organizations: 

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Connecticut All-State Highlighted Ensemble, the Connecticut Opera Company, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, CONCORA, University of Connecticut Choirs and Orchestras, Hartford Chorale and the Manchester Symphony Orchestra.   Some notable performance venues include: The HSO Talcott Mountain Music Festival, Bushnell with Hartford Symphony, Lincoln Memorial, Kennedy Center and the National Basilica of Washington DC, Grand Amway Hall in Grand Rapids MI, MGM Foxwoods, CT and numerous music conferences.  Leslie is passionate about advocacy for the arts and  innovations in music education.