AMERICAN MIRROR PROJECT Residencies
We want to EMPOWER students…
not simply to perform our mirror but to create their own. The Formosa Quartet’s educational residencies centered around the American Mirror Project include any number of the following activities:
Seminars and conversations exploring:
The catalyst for the American Mirror Project
The ideas and goals of our project
Discussions around how an event, idea, culture, or language can inspire a new piece of music or scholarly work, and how that new music or work adds to the richness of our American musical culture
How the personal identities, values, and experiences of music students and educators can contribute to how they teach and make music
How the American Mirror Project mindset can impact music education and broaden educators’ work in their classrooms
Workshops with students on composing/arranging and showcasing their own American Mirrors in either in formal or informal setting
Performances where students and faculty of the host institution contribute to designing and curating an “American Mirror” program at their school or campus, a portion of which is performed with the Formosa Quartet
Collecting mirror submissions from all areas of the host institution including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, and showcasing them in a short film, our performances, and other public exhibitions
In 2023-2024, the Formosa Quartet was named the McAndless Distinguished Professors in the Humanities at Eastern Michigan University where we collaborated with a community of over 14,000 members on the American Mirror Project. During our yearlong residency, we collaborated across the University and Humanities, engaging their students and faculty in a thoughtful exploration of our project. Our residency in January 2024 culminated in a specially curated performance mirroring the past, present, and future of the City of Ypsilanti and Eastern Michigan University including the world premiere of Dana Wilson’s Mirror for String Quartet and Narration. This work featured statements contributed and performed by EMU students and faculty.
Our residency in April 2024 included conversations with scholars about the power of mirrors and how the project's mindset can impact the future of music education, open rehearsals around our American Mirror Project programming, and a collaboration with Eastern Michigan University’s Music Therapy program. We held a series of workshops where Music Therapy students arranged and composed their own Mirrors culminating in a showcase featuring 20 new compositions on April 6, 2024. Below is a listing of educational events that were presented during our onsite visits at Eastern Michigan University.
Residencies in 2025-2026 season include partnerships with Guarneri Hall and Project 88 Music Academy. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with music educators and institutions across the country!