A new collaboration between the University and a local magnet school will offer middle school students the chance to interact with some of the top artists in the profession.
Under the program, some of the artists who perform at the University this year will also perform at the Durham Magnet Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, a new middle school that offers enhanced arts programs. A Polish modern dance company will debut the program in late September, and later such artists as the Ciompi Quartet will travel to the school. The Magnet Center may also allow other local schools to attend the performances.
Those involved with the initiative laud the University's support of the new school and the increased involvement in the community.
"This is especially important because Duke is very rich in cultural opportunities," said Kathy Silbiger, director of the University's Institute of the Arts. "We have a larger responsibility than just to our own students."
In addition to putting on performances, many of the artists will work in classes that focus on their area of specialty. The Ciompi Quartet, for example, will offer a workshop to the school's advanced string class, said Lee Vrana, curriculum specialist for visual and performing arts at the school.
The goal of the program is to allow students to have in-depth interaction with performing artists, Vrana said. Teachers at the school will spend class time before the performance telling students about the artists. After each artist's visit, students will do follow-up assignments, such as reviews of the performances, Vrana said.
Jonathan Bagg, a violinist in the quartet, said members of his group agreed to perform because they wanted to help the Magnet Center.
"We all want to support the endeavor at the Durham Magnet Center, and generally support the public schools," he said. The program can also encourage students' individual growth as artists, he said. "It's good to hear someone who's further along in the field doing it well."
The $10,000 cooperative program, funded by the Institute of the Arts, has begun at a time when the Magnet Center is scrambling for funding. The school recently lost its bid for a $1.5 million federal grant, which officials said they had hoped to apply to renovations and new equipment purchases. Despite the loss, school officials said their goals have not changed.
"We're moving forward as if we had the grant," said Ken Martin, an assistant principal at the school.
But officials said the road ahead will be harder without it. "Certainly not having $1.5 million makes a difference about what you can buy," Vrana said, although she also said the school still aims to meet its original goals.
Silbiger said she hoped the program would provide a foundation for further expansion. The Magnet Center hopes to add at least one high school grade each year, Vrana said, and Silbiger said she hoped the program would follow a similar expansion path.
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