In the eyes of Emily Isaacson ’04, classical music doesn’t just belong in concert halls, it also belongs in community centers, yoga studios, and sometimes in a giant pit of mud.
Isaacson is the founder and artistic director of Classical Uprising, a Maine-based arts collective dedicated to rethinking the classical music experience. The collective puts on about 50 events annually, drawing roughly 5,000 attendees each year through festivals, educational programs, and unconventional performances.
The collective’s next event, Mudfest, is a classical music festival marking the transitional period between winter and spring. This year, the event will run from March 19 to 29 near Portland, Maine.
Isaacson’s inspiration for the event came, in part, from her experience at the College. “Williamstown is the same as Maine in that winter is long and hard,” Isaacson said. “It is muddy, it is brown, it is slushy, it is depressing. As a result, we hibernate. We tend to stay inside. We don’t engage in community as much.”
According to Isaacson, Mudfest seeks to transform this gloomy, transitional period into one that is joyful. “Instead of saying, ‘It’s muddy,’ we say, ‘Oh, it’s muddy, we’re going to celebrate mud — we’re going to create something beautiful out of something messy,’” she said.
Mudfest will include a game of musical chairs set to classical music, a protest song sing-along, and a “Mudball” — an outdoor dance party and bonfire in the muddy plains of Maine.
For Isaacson, Mudfest is an opportunity for people of all ages to embrace creativity and joy, no matter the season. Through the childlike medium of mud, she tries to create opportunities for kids and adults to engage with each other as equals. “By embracing mud, [Mudfest] says the normal rules don’t apply here,” Isaacson said. “It gives people permission to be open to a different kind of experience.”
Subverting the culture around classical music through mess is just one way that Classical Uprising realizes its mission of making the genre more approachable. In conversations with contemporary composers, Isaacson has found that many artists want their music to be a part of average people’s everyday lives. “People [assume] classical music is elitist, it’s snobby, [and they] have to know about how to dress and how to act,” Isaacson said. “And that’s ridiculous.”
To break down the exclusionary expectations aroundclassical music, Classical Uprising holds performances in unexpected venues, ranging from bowling alleys to breweries. When classical music appears in familiar settings, Isaacson explained, audiences often feel less constrained by traditional expectations and are able to appreciate the music for what it is. “The negative expectations get torn away, and people are much more [receptive],” she said. “Their spirit is more open to seeing what the art could do for them.”
For Isaacson, attending classical music concerts growing up shaped her vision for Classical Uprising. “I just felt like there was a huge disconnect between the way the music made me feel and the etiquette that was expected,” Isaacson said. “If this music makes me feel excited or I want to dance, why am I supposed to sit still and wait until the end of these four movements to clap?”
With the aim of making classical music more accessible, Classical Uprising works to keep its events affordable. According to Isaacson, about 60 percent of the organization’s events are free or low-cost. Many events are also held in places that already have deep ties to communities, such as churches, parks, and town centers, which helps keep the group’s events less expensive.
While a student at the College, Isaacson majored in English, although she knew that she wanted to be a classical conductor since age 13. “I figured if I was going to spend the rest of my life studying and making music, that I wanted to spend my time at Williams exploring other things,” Isaacson said.
She went on to pursue masters degrees in Musicology and Choral Conducting at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Oregon, respectively. She also received a Doctorate of Musical Arts, specializing in conducting at the University of Illinois.
Isaacson credits her time at the College for shaping her approach to community-centered arts and teaching her to always push the limits of what is considered the norm. “I think I’m able to communicate to people why they should care, why music is important, why beauty is important, why community is important, why joy is important,” she said. “I have Williams to thank for that.”