October 22, 2019

Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design and The Curtis Institute of Music have been awarded the first-ever project grants from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage for an inter-institutional collaboration. The combined awards, which total $700,000, will fund 听! Philadelphia, a large-scale musical experience spanning several months and bringing together more than 120 local musicians of varied genre under the direction of internationally acclaimed composer and conductor Peter Wiegold, to explore the central artistic question: “How do we find a space where people can listen?”

Wiegold will serve as an artist in residence for six months from January to June 2021, during which time he will work with local musicians to develop a new way of creating music together, using a combination of non-traditional instrumentation, non-traditional orchestral scoring, and musical improvisation. The project will include six smaller-scale Club Night performances held in venues throughout the city in April and May 2021 and will culminate in three large-scale public performances of a grand Roaratorio to be held in the Chapel at Girard College in May 2021.

For both Drexel and Curtis, the arts can be a catalyst for social cohesion and change. 听! Philadelphia lives at the intersection of musical excellence and civic engagement as this project aims to dynamically engage Philadelphia’s varied communities in the exercise of active listening. Through this practice, both the musical artists and the audience can participate actively to develop a better understanding of cultural connections and identities. Finding a space within which people can listen will inform the power of collaboration and foster empathy for differing cultural perspectives.

Peter Wiegold is one of the most innovative musicians working today. He “toys with the relationship between composer, music director and performer, reworking their roles in the creative process” [The Times], all the while providing “inspirational direction.” [The Independent] For 听! Philadelphia, Wiegold’s creative method of working will guide an exploration of musical independence and interdependence, serving as the primary method through which musicians and audience members can explore new ways of finding space to listen.

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All 听! Philadelphia performances will be free and open to the public. More information including specific performance dates, times and locations are forthcoming.

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About The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a multidisciplinary grantmaker and hub for knowledge-sharing, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, dedicated to fostering a vibrant cultural community in Greater Philadelphia. The Center invests in ambitious, imaginative, and catalytic work that showcases the region’s cultural vitality and enhances public life, and engages in an exchange of ideas concerning artistic and interpretive practice with a broad network of cultural practitioners and leaders. For more information, visit pewcenterarts.org.

Media Contact
Jessica Doheny, Mandell Theater Managing Director
jsd323@drexel.edu
215-895-2528