The New World Symphony (NWS) – America’s Orchestral Academy, began as an idea in the late 1980’s as a fresh approach to music education. It is a fellowship program that selects 87 talented graduates of distinguished music schools and conservatories for three years of study. The curriculum is based on the aspirations of each individual player and the faculty assessment of the future of the art form. Alumni of the New World Symphony are members of orchestras across the U.S. and in Europe, South America and Asia. The New World Center is an educational facility designed to engage indoor and outdoor audiences in the heart of Miami Beach. Its outdoor projection wall – an outward-facing expression of NWS’ institutional goal of engaging a broad public – has created instant community, attracting audiences that regularly assemble outdoors for New World Symphony concerts, weekly films, Art Basel Miami Beach video art and other cultural content. As part of New World Symphony’s practical curriculum, fellows are designing performance and engagement strategies to attract multiple audiences. Millennials are a specific target audience. They have come of age in a digital and visual environment. Fellows use social media and visual elements to make the musical experience more powerful. New World’s community programs, such as MusicLab and Side-by-Side, are investing in Miami’s youth, helping to position them for bright futures, while simultaneously giving fellows firsthand experience with mentorship. NWS fellows partner with local programs that have flourished based on the vision and hard work of their leaders. Two prime examples are the Miami Northwestern Senior High School band program and the Miami Music Project. The mission in the beginning is the same today – to prepare post-graduate music students to be leaders. Just now in Miami, donors are becoming investors in art forms and institutions, realizing the work of artists and institutions has direct impact on the economic sustainability and social viability of the community. New World is seeking philanthropic partners who are interested in building a city of the future.
