(Sounding Board, January 2002) Most Americans think of Washington, D.C., as our nation's capital - home to the White House, the Capitol, the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It's a city where limousines, motorcades, and the Secret Service are as much a part of the daily downtown routine as panhandlers and hot dog vendors. Nearly every nation has an embassy within the city, and large immigrant communities from Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean have found a home there. Culturally, Washingtonians enjoy the benefits of a major metropolitan area within a relatively small city.

In the shadow of our nation's capital, however, lives another D.C. It's the only place in the U.S. where residents are expected to pay federal taxes and perform the duties of full citizens without representation in Congress. One in five residents live in poverty, giving it the second highest poverty rate in the nation. Even more striking, 44 percent of the District's children live in poverty - nearly twice the national average.

Given the dichotomy that defines its home, the Washington, D.C. Chapter faces the challenge of serving the city in its entirety. Over the past year, chapter programming has reached residents in educational settings, prestigious performance venues, and underground art spaces.

Engaging Communities

The Community Partners Program touches all corners of D.C. society, developing and operating composer residencies in partnership with community-based organizations, including schools, arts organizations, and social service agencies. In the past year, the program undertook nine projects, resulting in the creation of 10 new works, the involvement of hundreds of area residents, and coverage in such media outlets as The Washington Post and National Public Radio.

Last year, Community Partners placed composer-bassist William Parker in residence at the Patricia Sitar Center, a community music school in D.C.'s Adams Morgan neighborhood - one of the city's most diverse communities. Parker worked with students in the jazz ensemble, composing for the group and leading the students (ages 12 to 16) through improvisational workshops to further develop the work collaboratively. The ensemble, with Parker on bass, premiered the composition on May 23 at a free outdoor concert as part of the D.C. Vision Jazz Festival. This was one of the ensemble's first performances, and the students were thrilled to perform with a musician of Parker's stature.

"[The students] were very fast learners, and enthusiastic about trying new things," says Parker. "They are really talented. I would be honored to work with them again in the future."

The program also allowed composer Emily Bell Spitz and playwright-lyricist Bari Biern to collaborate with students and staff at the Fillmore Arts Camp (a program of D.C.'s Fillmore Arts Center). The camp serves a diverse group of young people ages six to 14. Approximately one-third of the campers speak English as a second language, and one-third receive financial assistance to attend the camp.

The camp's entire curriculum was built around the production, including classes in set construction, dance, instrument building, and singing. Many of the campers received their first taste of electronic composition working with Spitz to electronically layer and manipulate sounds for the play's musical accompaniment. The summer camp culminated with a performance of the play for friends and family.

From Art Space to Office Space

The chapter also provides composers and musicians with performance opportunities throughout the greater D.C. area. Last year, chapter-sponsored performances filled spaces ranging from makeshift art venues to some of the city's most revered cultural institutions.

For the first time, the chapter joined forces with Art-o-Matic, a month-long, nonjuried celebration of the arts held in a former EPA office building. As part of the festival, the chapter sponsored an evening of music by area composers. The concert filled the converted office space with a diverse array of works, including performances by chamber groups, a solo pianist, a guitar quartet, and electro-acoustic artists.

The chapter also continued its participation in the Forum's Sonic Circuits International Festival of Electronic Music and Art. Each year, the Forum's national office curates a roster of electro-acoustic artists and recorded video and audio works. Local presenters - including a number of the Forum's chapters - draw both from this roster and from local talent to tailor performances to the needs and tastes of their constituencies.

From July 21 through August 3, the D.C. Chapter presented six Sonic Circuits events throughout the capital region, spanning from Baltimore all the way to Fairfax, Va. Venues ranged from the colossal, red-carpeted halls of the Kennedy Center to the underground performance spaces Decatur Blue and Mission Media Space to such academic venues as George Mason University, the University of Maryland School of Music, and the Levine School of Music. More than 30 artists performed an eclectic mix of works, which included a composition for voice, laptop, and percussion; a solo performance of electronically manipulated percussion; and an improvisation for sax, laptop, and amplified-hacksaw-on-vinyl.

Building a Better Composer

The chapter also provides area composers with tools to build their careers. Composers gather for chapter meetings, where they share works-in-progress and support each other's careers. A quarterly newsletter keeps area members up-to-date on the latest in chapter news and professional opportunities, and networking events connect composers with presenters, artists from other disciplines, and other professional contacts.

This past year, the chapter launched a new partnership with the National Symphony Orchestra, allowing members to observe open rehearsals and meet with visiting composers. The program kicked off in September 2002, when members watched NSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin lead the orchestra in rehearsals for a program that included two world premieres. Members also met with Cindy McTee, who composed one of the premieres, for a roundtable discussion exploring, among other subjects, the need for a better vocabulary to address the emotional content of music.

The Tale of Two Cities

As the chapter moves into 2003, it continues to serve diverse communities, develop new opportunities for area artists, and bring music to all corners of D.C. society. This way, the chapter keeps one foot firmly planted in each Washington: the neighborhoods that are so often marginalized into the role of "extras" on the set of national politics, and the more-visible public arena of our nation's capital.