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PlayTogether Go!
A unique combination of commissioned music, student ensemble, an online musical matching game, and an afternoon of family fun celebrating diversity in the arts.
FEATURING
Young Musicians
Local Under-Represented Composers
A "digital/musical treasure hunt" inspired by Pokemon!
What is PlayTogether Go?
PlayTogether Go is a multi-media program committed to equity and accessibility in the arts, which was was conceived and created by WSM's then Multi-Media specialist Allison Dobbs.
It debuted at Wayland School of Music in 2022, with support from the MA Cultural Council and Wayland Cultural Council, and repeated in 2023.
Together, PlayTogether GO 2022 and 2023 featured:
- Ten under-represented local composers (meet them below!) +
- Sixteen brand new pieces commissioned +
- About 60 students (age 7 to adult) giving the world premiere performances +
- A musical/digital treasure hunt for clues (scan the code here) throughout each year's performance venue +
- One raffle with many cool prices to support scholarships through the Wayland School of Music Equity of Access Fund +
- One free community event open to all =
A grand family afternoon out!
The game:
- Students’ digital characters, with their recorded music and artwork, starred in a Pokemon®-inspired online game
- QR codes, leading to the clues for the characters and their music, were placed around the performance venue and grounds
- Families used their phones to "treasure hunt" for hidden characters and music
- Once all clues were collected, they could solve the online puzzle of how the characters and their music fit together!
The performance
- The students gave the world premiere performance of their group’s music
- Audience members were able to hear if they had matched up the groups of characters correctly
- There was a raffle for fun prizes donated by local merchants
Who were the 2022 & 2023 PTG composers?
Click on each name below to learn more!
Each year, Wayland School of Music commissioned professional composers from traditionally under-represented groups (e.g. Indigenous, Black, LGBTQ, Latinx) to write new music for student ensembles.
Our composers were excited to work with this new generation of young musicians, and wrote the students wonderful new music inspired by their own life experiences and cultural influences.
Our students enjoyed meeting and working with them and, through informal discussion, expanding their awareness of who writes music and why they write it. They were very proud to give the world premiere performances of their "own" composer's new music!
