“Into the Silent Land” honors lives lost at Sandy Hook
McGRATHPR.com – In commemoration of tomorrow’s Arts Advocacy Day, an initiative founded by MASSCreative to recognize the global value of arts and creativity, South Shore Conservatory (SSC) released SSC Music Festival – Into the Silent Land, a video about the process that SSC’s Festival Wind Ensemble experienced in performing the emotional piece, written in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
Into the Silent Land, a piece for wind band and narrator, was composed by Steve Danyew, a former Sandy Hook Elementary School student. The collaboration between Danyew and South Shore Conservatory’s Summer Music Festival (SMF) to premiere this piece, is a shining example of how music can both bring people together, and aid in the healing process.
In December 2017, South Shore Conservatory joined a group of high schools and colleges from across the country to commission Danyew to compose the new work. The deeply moving and powerful music he composed highlights music’s unique ability to break down barriers and enable performers and audiences to engage with difficult, yet important events.
SMF Music Director, Eric Laprade, reflects on the experience. “The Steve Danyew project is a powerful example of South Shore Conservatory’s commitment to serving its students, supporting the creation of new art, and exploring how the arts relate to our ever-changing modern society. The impact of the music was matched only by the commitment, talent, and sophistication of our students at Summer Music Festival. In my 13 years of teaching music, I have not witnessed a more vivid example of the both the relevance and the importance of arts education in today’s modern society. The experience required us to give all of ourselves to the music, and it is an experience I will never forget.”
South Shore Conservatory’s Summer Music Festival, now in its 49th season, offers a high quality wind band, chamber and jazz ensemble experience for elementary through college-aged musicians. It brings together student musicians from across southeastern Massachusetts in an intense, supportive, collaborative, and music-focused learning environment.
The public is invited to view the Into the Silent Land video at https://youtu.be/vuGMrGCN-Hk.
For more information about South Shore Conservatory’s Summer Music Festival, visit https://sscmusic.org/smf/ or find South Shore Conservatory Summer Music Festival on Facebook.
About South Shore Conservatory
South Shore Conservatory, (SSC) has been providing access to and enriching the lives of South Shore residents through music and the arts for almost 50 years. Recognized as a national model for arts education by the National Guild for Community Arts Education, SSC is the largest, not-for-profit, community school for the arts in Massachusetts, serving over 4500 students of all ages and abilities at two beautiful campuses and in partnership with schools, and social service and community agencies throughout the South Shore. A third campus in Hanover is scheduled to open to the public for classes and programs in the summer of 2020.
Students participate in more than 50 diverse programs in music, dance and drama, with performance playing an important role in overall education. With more than 100 exceptional musicians on faculty, SSC offers over 200 professionally produced concerts annually. Through innovative partnerships, SSC’s Creative Arts Therapies department supports the mental, emotional, and physical health of some of our community’s underserved members, and the ImagineARTS program strengthens pre-reading skills for young learners in Brockton Schools through integrated music and dramatic play.
SSC’s campuses are located at One Conservatory Drive, Hingham, (781-749-7565) and 64 St. George Street, Duxbury (781-934-2731), and administrative offices at 135 Webster Street, Hanover, (781-421-6162). SSC programs are supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
In keeping with SSC’s inclusive mission to provide access to quality education in the arts for all, the Conservatory offers programs for all segments of the population to enjoy, regardless of age, ability, geography, and financial means. Furthermore, South Shore Conservatory admits students and families of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school.
SSC’s Into the Silent Land video was created by Videographer Colin Bell
