Detroit Harmony Enters a New Phase
Inside the one-story brick building that sits on Cass Avenue behind the Orchestra Place Parking Garage, a new chapter is unfolding for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Detroit Harmony Initiative.
Long called the Limo Building for the cars that were once parked there, the location also took turns as the DSO archives and telemarketing headquarters. With shifts in technology and the archives formally moved to Wayne State University’s Reuther Library, the space was ready for a new purpose: Detroit, meet your Detroit Harmony Building, affectionately coined the “DHB.”
Infrastructure may not be glamorous, but it’s a critical component for any mission, which allows day-to-day operations to be carried out successfully. Buildings also speak volumes;they are a tangible indicator of a strong foundation and show that roots have been laid for growth.
Having a physical home ensures an exact instrument inventory, greatly improving the ability to get instruments into student hands, and aids in staying abreast of which instruments require repair. Repairs can also take place onsite. Last spring, the DHB hosted a repair workshop for partner organization Detroit Suzuki to work with Cass Tech students and instructors, who were able to repair bridges on over 40 violins and violas and place them right back on the inventory shelf for pick up.
The DHB provides space for meetings and performances and has already become a community gathering space where core memories are built and students are gifted tools that will anchor their life development. This fall, a Concert Clothing Closet will also debut, where all DH and partner organization students can “shop” for needed concert apparel.Staffing and partnerships have also grown.
What started as a dedicated group with a vision for the future—far exceeding the bandwidth of the hands involved—has strategically expanded to bring that vision into focus and will continue to do so. Originally made up of Detroit Harmony Managing Director Damien Crutcher and three partner organizations, the collective has increased to three full-time DSO Detroit Harmony staff members and 59 partner organizations. Detroit Harmony’s second large-scale instrument drive will take place this season.
Looking to the future, Detroit Harmony Partnerships & Services Coordinator Erin Faryniarz expresses what’s ahead for the program: “Our goal in the next few years is to organize a mobile music lessons program to even out the music lesson desert in some areas of the city and create equitable access to music teaching artists for all our DH instrument recipients.”
Mapping Music Education
Looking to the future, Detroit Harmony Partnerships & Services Coordinator Erin Faryniarz expresses what’s ahead for the program: “Our goal in the next few years is to organize a mobile music lessons program to even out the music lesson desert in some areas of the city and create equitable access to music teaching artists for all our DH instrument recipients.”
How can we identify music resource deserts in Detroit? Data. And that data didn't exist until Data Driven Detroit entered the picture to facilitate a collaborative case study, resulting in the creation of an interactive map that allows staff to assess city-wide access to music education.
"To use this tool, Detroit Harmony staff enters an address, chooses a radius in miles from that address, and the tool returns a list of music classes, instruction, and programs within the search area offered by Detroit Harmony partners and DPSCD music courses. Thus this tool enables Detroit Harmony staff to help parents, residents, and Detroit Harmony partners identify the music opportunities within a specified area."
In turn, the tool provides key insight needed to strategically address the areas where resources aren't available.
