Music, Community, and Creating Space for Unexpected Possibilities | Sebastian Ruth | TEDxProvidence

What happens when we take a leap of faith to disrupt a mainstream idea? What are the possibilities in combining unlike things? Musician, educator, and organizer Sebastian Ruth shares the ideas behind Community MusicWorks, the organization he leads, about how artists working in sustained partnerships with local communities can open possibilities for coming together across difference. And how for all of us, unexpected spaces can emerge when we step outside the mainstream. Sebastian Ruth is a musician, educator, and organizer whose work explores new roles for music making in contemporary society. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Community MusicWorks, a nationally-recognized organization that connects professional musicians with urban youth and families in Providence, Rhode Island. Sebastian is a Visiting Lecturer at the Yale School of Music and an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Music at Brown University. He serves on the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture’s cabinet, with a title of Secretary of Music and Society, and the advisory board of the Sphinx Organization. In 2010, Sebastian received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michele Obama on behalf of Community MusicWorks. Sebastian is a recipient of a 2010 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for “forging a new, multifaceted role beyond the concert hall for the twenty-first-century musician.” This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx