School of Music
Amount Awarded: $3,500
Awarded for 2020-21
Title: Entrepreneurs in Music Workshop
The MOVE Project brought together all the cast and creatives of the hybrid opera WESHALL NOT BE MOVED which had it’s world premier through Opera Philadelphia in 2017.During The MOVE Project there were multiple high-profile guests who gave lectures, masterclasses and panel discussions spurred on by the material and experiences surrounding the making and producing and performing of the original opera.
The educational benefits of The MOVE Project were immense. Students were able to learn directly from singers, dancers, actors, spoken word artists, composers, directors, conductors and producers who are actively working in the music industry today. Additionally, the original opera centered on various themes that are prevalent in our society today, including racism, bullying, transgender rights, police brutality, and poverty. Our presenters spoke on so many topics over the course of the week’s events; in one class, the composer composed a brand new piece for us, impromptu, on the subject of George Floyd. In another class, about 200 student dancers joined the dancers of We Shall Not Be Moved as they moved through various hip hop dance gestures and techniques! All of the principal singers of the cast guided student singers from around the country through their repertoire, and the conductor and principal pianist led a class for musicians interested in modern music and how to approach it for performance. Our assistant director and the lead actress, led a class on modern theater and particularly black and latino themes, and our famous director was joined by the composer, the librettist and the conductor to talk about modern opera and how it navigates this modern world and embraces social themes of the day. From Monday, April 5 through Friday, April 9, 2021 there were a total of 15 different events especially designed for students of The School of Music, The School of Dance, the Theatre Department and students interested in themes of equity, diversity, and inclusion. The MOVE Project was an unmitigated success with hundreds of students and faculty impacted, and the University of Utah, through The MOVE Project also hosted students from multiple universities around the country, including The University of Wisconsin at Madison, Lawrence Conservatory, East Carolina University, NYU Tisch School, and Arizona State University.
The MOVE Project webpage, Designed by Michaela Funtanilla for the School of Music contains all the information about the events that were held during the first week of April, and recordings of the events are available here for viewing:https://music.utah.edu/news/MOVEproject.php