CEO Jim Hirsch offers a historical deep dive and insider perspective in to the creation of Chicago Sinfonietta’s groundbreaking fellowship and education program.
The First Fellowship Class of Project Inclusion
“I just recently saw Hamilton for the second time and the song, “The Room Where It Happens,” has been running through my brain almost non-stop. But as I think about the very beginning of what has become one of Chicago Sinfonietta’s signature programs, Project Inclusion, it’s apropos because I was in the room where it happened! It all came about through a strategic planning process that we began in 2005. First, some background.
Maestro Freeman had a keen eye for finding talented musicians, composers, soloists, and conductors from diverse backgrounds. He had informally mentored and championed individuals throughout his career and helped launch some of the most accomplished artists of the time including Yo-Yo Ma, among others. As we brainstormed what we wanted to accomplish for the future in 2005, it became clear that to help address the dearth of diverse musicians in American orchestras, Chicago Sinfonietta needed to do something about it. We decided to create
PI Inaugural Class Members Andrew Snow (left) and Demarus Allen-Batieste
a fellowship program that would take early career, diverse musicians and invite them to rehearse and perform with the orchestra for up to two years.
Maestro Freeman, Renee Baker (orchestra personnel manager at that time), and I worked as a team to create the initial program outlines for Project Inclusion. We held auditions and introduced the first class of Project Inclusion in January of 2007 during our MLK concert.
Project Inclusion Double Bassist Brandon Mitchell
The program has been offered ever since and we added a conducting fellowship in 2014 and an administrative fellowship in 2015. When Maestro Freeman passed away we renamed it the Project Inclusion Freeman Fellowship in his honor. We are excited to have recently introduced the 2019-2020 class of Freeman Fellows who will begin their work with us in September and look forward to being in the room where it happens as they begin their career journeys.” —Jim Hirsch
Learn more about the 2019-2020 Project Inclusion Freeman Fellowship class.
