Randall Davidson: Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
The Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota, the St. Paul Public Housing Agency, the St. Paul Children's Theatre Company, and The Schubert Club hosted composer Randall Davidson from 1995-1998. Mr. Davidson composed a score to the ballet The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes, premiered by the Children's Theatre Company in February 1998. He also held summer workshops with members of the Theatre in which new pieces were created by students and professional artists in collaboration.

Children living in Public Housing Agency properties had the chance to work with Mr. Davidson in a project called Class Act!, learning the basics of music composition and performance. He composed new music for the Plymouth Music Series ensembles, as well as for the Schubert Club's dedication of a new carillon at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Center.

Donald Harrison: New Orleans, LA
Composer and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison served as Composer-in-Residence in New Orleans, Louisiana with Junebug Productions' Environmental Justice Project, the Guardians of the Flame, and the Gulf Coast Tenants Association. The residency was structured to give specific community groups and neighborhoods the chance to work with Mr. Harrison through performances, workshops, and a variety of school projects.

Mr. Harrison, whose jazz compositions evoke the musical traditions of New Orleans, supported the Gulf Coast Tenant's Association's efforts to organize and train small communities to deal with their environmental issues. Regular performances given by Mr. Harrison, in neighborhoods in and around New Orleans, were accompanied by post-performance discussions, lectures, and extensive interaction with young musicians.

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason: Catskills, NY
Composers and performers Jay Ungar and Molly Mason used their residency to focus on new works that reflect life in New York's Catskills region. Hosting the residency were the Belleayre Conservatory of Music, the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, the Onteora Central School District, WJFF Radio Catskill, and the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development.

Through performing, educational activities, and recording, Mr. Ungar and Ms. Mason effectively became a musical "voice" for the Catskills. The two performed numerous concerts, both in schools and in other venues, as well as participating in several local festivals, such as the Tastes and Sounds of the Catskills Festival and Bellayre Conservatory's Catskill Festival of Music and Dance.

WJFF Radio Catskill maintained a close relationship with both composers after the residency, hosting interviews, live performances, and recorded concerts. A highlight of the residency was the recording of The Catskill Collection CD, featuring Mr. Ungar, Ms. Mason, and many of the musicians who performed with them at regional venues. The CD is a diverse collection of jazz, Irish, klezmer, and classical music.

Ameen Muhammad: Chicago, IL
In 1998, composer Ameen Muhammad completed his three-year residency in the Greater Grand Boulevard community of Chicago, with the Youth Consortium of Greater Grand Boulevard, the Department of Education and Culture for the Chicago Housing Authority, and the Columbia College Center for Black Music Research.

Among other activities, Mr. Muhammad developed a community youth choir comprised of youth from several Chicago Housing Authority housing complexes, contributed to the creation of a youth arts camp for music and dance, and gave music lessons to students at the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). On December 10, 1998, the world premiere of Mr. Muhammad's major collaboration with AACM Roots N'D'Blues: Act 1-N'D'Beginning was performed by Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago.

Walter Robinson: Boston, MA
The Somerville Community Corporation, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center, and the Divine Harmony Gospel Choir of Boston hosted composer Walter Robinson during his residency.

The focal point of the residency, Mr. Robinson's gospel musical theater piece Moses, was used to educate and sensitize the African-American and Jewish communities to their common links and differences, and to encourage leadership among both communities to confront all forms of anti-Semitism, racism, and religious intolerance. In addition to frequent performance of this work and others, both as a whole and in excerpts, Mr. Robinson gave post-performance talks, interviews with local and national press, a lecture series with Black ministers and Jewish Rabbis on Moses, and coached young gospel performers and composers.

Steve Rouse: Louisville, KY
Composer Steve Rouse's residency in Louisville, Kentucky, focused on addressing the needs of families and youth in the most economically disadvantaged and culturally isolated areas of the community. In association with the Family & Children's Agency in Louisville, New Performing Arts, Inc., and the Jefferson County Public Schools, Mr. Rouse composed a series of new works directed at both adult and young audiences.

Several of these works were derived from the composer's on-site experiences, interviews, and community interaction. Among the pieces performed was a chamber opera for children entitled The Mouse Wife, about the inner turmoil experienced by a caged bird who ultimately finds her freedom through the help of a mouse.

Mr. Rouse, who had prior experience also worked closely with at-risk middle school youth as well as inner city schools.