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Musikiwest harnesses the collaborative power of chamber music to engender empathic awareness, promote conflict resolution and build peaceable communities.

Our programs feature an ensemble of internationally renowned professional musicians rehearsing a piece of chamber music in a scripted format. As they play passages and intermittently stop to talk, a health professional plays the role of ‘moderator’, highlighting to the audience in real time each player’s comments, gestures, expressions and body language, and the reactions these may elicit in the other players.

Scripted dialogue will illustrate different aspects of interpersonal interaction and group dynamics, such as intimidation, shaming, resentment, divisiveness and other ingredients of discord which ultimately undermine their relations and their music. The moderator will maintain an interactive dialogue with the audience, and together with the audience, suggest alternative scenarios of speech and behavior that restore harmony among the ensemble.

We present our programs in a small classroom setting at select middle schools and high schools.

Students will be seated around the musicians, close enough to discern their facial expressions and subtle gestures. The week of school presentations will culminate in a full-length professional concert performance open to the community.

We hope that participation in our program will empower these young audience members to build their awareness, empathy and skills for conflict resolution, to expose them to a performance of classical chamber music by world-class musicians, and to encourage them to invite their family and friends to join them in enjoying this rare community concert.

Board of Directors

Michelle Djokic – artistic director
Vivian Lee – treasurer
Laura Kenney – secretary
Donald McEnry Davis – board member
Arlene Krebs – board member

Advisory board

 Candace Jones
Teresa Hopkins
Benjamin Stark