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
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
We were honored to be named the 2023-2024 McAndless Distinguished Professors in the Humanities at Eastern Michigan University where we launched the American Mirror Project. During our two onsite residency weeks, we collaborated across the University and Humanities, engaging their students and faculty in a thoughtful exploration of our project through conversations, lecture presentations, workshops, open rehearsals, and performances. Our concerts, curated and performed together by Formosa Quartet and EMU’s community, mirrored the rich and complex histories (past, present, and future) of the University and the city of Ypsilanti.
