Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In early 2016, the Fleisher Collection began researching and developing the foundation for a special project centered on Cuban orchestral music available only at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Our initial research trip to Havana in April 2016 revealed the Fleisher Collection possessed twenty-four orchestral works by fourteen major Cuban composers available nowhere else in the world, and opened dialogue with key composers, conductors, musicologists, and representatives from a wide variety of music conservatories and organizations. In July 2016, we developed the Cuban Music Project: Alma Vieja/Alma Nueva. The project focuses on properly engraving complete performance sets (conductor’s score and complete set of parts for the musicians on stage) from historically significant Cuban works in manuscript, as well as bringing in newer works by established and rising Cuban composers. During our follow up trip to Havana in September 2016, I formally presented the proposal to and garnered enthusiastic support from key organizations, conductors, and composers in Cuba. And then Trump was elected. Reforms instituted under the Obama administration soon disappeared, and an artistic endeavor already challenged by limitations in the Cuban communication infrastructure faced a set of new obstacles. This paper narrates the development of a transcultural outreach project, addresses the myriad unexpected disincentives, and presents the ascent of a resistance movement to transcend politics with art.