Thematic Programming
A great performance of great music is at the heart of every thematic concert Mead creates, and packaging it in a relevant context is her trademark. No topic is too remote to create an association that offers new perspectives on the music. In taking on a youth topic such as soccer, for example, Mead's approach is to learn everything she can about the subject and the relationship her audience has with it. She then uses the terms to create parallels to music, offering her audience a new vocabulary with which to speak about the musical experience. A "ball" may morphs into a "motive" and a soccer "play" may translate into "motivic development," in order to offer insight to the music that would otherwise be lost on a young audience. Interviews with celebrity athletes, contests, audience participation and prepared songs for the audience to sing or play from their seats all tie into a concert event that inspires with music at the highest level.
Over the course of 15 years, Mead has created dozens of thematic programs for orchestras, choirs, festivals, schools, and radio shows. Themes have included Language of Music, Folk Elements in Music, Car Racing, Baking a Rondo Cake, Water Legends, and many more. Monique advises Assistant Conductors and education departments on how to create engaging thematic programs and the educational materials to prepare their audiences ahead of time. Details on a handful of these programs are available at www.klassik-for-kids.com. Consultations available upon request.
Sponsorships
The ability to create connections between seemingly disparate fields: soccer and classical music, for instance, has placed Mead in the headlines of the arts section—and the sports page, on occasion. Sponsors such as Audi, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, FC Bayern München, FC Schalke 04, McDonald’s and Opel have underwritten her orchestra programs, which feature themes that underscore the sponsor’s interests and values such as fitness or environmental stewardship. Publicity and good press around the novelty of her concerts makes them an attractive product for sponsors.