Arc Duo | Workshops

OFFERINGS

Arc Duo has developed several 45 minute workshops that lead a group through various topics in an interactive, experiential manner. The workshops can be targeted to various age groups and experience levels by refocusing the depth and detail of the workshop's material.

Working Together, Playing Together

This workshop illustrates the concepts of sharing, goal oriented team work, and communication. Students learn what it means to perform music together and what it takes to get organized. The Duo demonstrates the importance of communication, having a game plan and mapping out strategy. Students listen to, interact with, and take part in an open, mini-rehearsal. At the conclusion, students may join Arc Duo and perform on a string, wind or percussion instrument.

Modern Music Makes My Ears Hurt!

While it might take a small effort to comprehend, the sometimes-prickly sounds of contemporary classical music have a lot of beauty to offer. In this workshop, students learn how to listen to modern, classical masterpieces and are introduced to selected contemporary composers. The Duo makes sense of this newer aesthetic and illustrates how modern music is different from and similar to music of the past. Students take part in composing a group, musical composition – performed on the spot by Arc Duo.

Informance

Informative performances, these sessions consist of a number of virtuosic pieces performed by Arc Duo. In-between pieces, audience members are encouraged to speak out with questions and comments. The Duo takes time to highlight interesting material, stories and background on the works and composers represented. Time is taken at the session’s end for a more general question and answer period.

Music Helps Heal

Born out of the Diller-Quaile/Mount Sinai Hospital Program which the Arc Duo initiated, this format is perfect for hospitals, retirement homes and community centers. The Duo performs light programs for patients, staff, and visitors at these centers. These concerts usually take place in an inclusive and relaxed environment so that audience members may enter and exit without disturbing others. Questions and discussion are always welcomed.

Inter-generational Workshop

Designed as a cross-generational experience, this workshop offers unique social as well as musical experiences to seniors and children. The participants learn about the process of composition and engage in creating a new piece of music. From designing a system of notation, to composing a piece and rehearsing it, the children and seniors collaborate toward a final performance. The workshop can be structured as a multi-day series, with the seniors and children working first alone and then as a larger group, or as a one day session with the two groups interacting together from beginning to end.