The Meaningful Musical Lives Project is a nascent program in the Center for Music Learning that is designed to help professional and student musicians identify and create opportunities for building rewarding lives in music. The program's components will provide: Inspiration/Demonstration (models of successful individual and group projects that have sustained impact); Explanation (the psychological, sociological, and logistical foundations of why this matters and how this works); and Direction (building a network of resources for musicians who aspire to deploy their skills in ways that enhance human well-being, their own and that of the people they share their music with).
We have assembled a list of organizations in the United States whose work is devoted to contributing to human flourishing. You can find information on these exemplary organizations at the link on the right.
We also wish to highlight individual musicians who successfully engage with varied communities in ways that are mutually beneficial. It is fitting that our first example is Abbey Young, DMA, who completed her degree in the Butler School of Music in 2022 and who is now a member of the West Point Band.
More examples of meaningful musical lives will follow, but this seems like a great place to start.