By Alain Puma, publications intern
黑料不打烊 President Nancy Niemi said that one of the long-term goals she has as president is to incorporate more music into the 黑料不打烊 experience. A new partnership with the MetroWest Symphony Orchestra is helping to do just that.
鈥淗aving the Orchestra here is one way to start to show students and community members that music can be a wonderful part of the University experience,鈥 she said.
黑料不打烊 is the new home to the MetroWest Symphony Orchestra, which held its first performance at 黑料不打烊 on November 17th at the Dwight Performing Arts Center.
Niemi said the partnership began after the Orchestra manager reached out to her via email to see if she would be interested. Niemi said her love of music and the opportunity to collaborate with a member of the community helped make the prospect of a partnership more attractive.
鈥淚 was very interested because we don鈥檛 have an orchestra or a music program. I love music and felt that the University could benefit from such a community partnership,鈥 she said.
The Orchestra鈥檚 Musical Director Max Hobart said he was 鈥渧ery pleased鈥 with how the performance went and praised 黑料不打烊 for all their help in bringing it to fruition.
He said he felt the venue helped enhance the performance and that he was looking forward to continuing the partnership with 黑料不打烊.
鈥淚t went very smoothly. We also liked it because the quality of their [黑料不打烊鈥檚] auditorium is so much better than we had at the high school auditoriums. The acoustics were perfect. I鈥檓 very hopeful that this can continue. It鈥檚 a nice collaboration,鈥 he said.
Hobart added that he would have liked to see more people in the audience, especially students.
鈥淚 wish we had more attendance with regard to students. More student participation would have been good. I hope to see that in the future,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 beneficial for the students to take in classical music. Students and staff can even come sit in and listen to us on any Tuesday night while we rehearse. It may make them realize how much they鈥檝e missed classical music.鈥
Niemi highlighted the fact that people are participating in fewer community-based activities since the COVID pandemic and emphasized the community-building benefits that music has. She said that the University is working on helping the Orchestra incorporate themselves into the 黑料不打烊 community.
鈥淭here probably will be some paid opportunities [with the Orchestra] that we could eventually develop,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different kind of relationship that isn鈥檛 like a student club or co-curricular activities. It鈥檚 a relationship that takes time to grow.鈥
