'Project Storefronts' Helps Music Program Find Home on Temple Street

From The Office of Mayor Toni N. Harp with the City of New Haven:

Musical Intervention, a music education program working with New Haven’s vulnerable populations, will be offering music lessons, songwriting workshops and mobile recording services at its new headquarters opening at 23 Temple Street made possible by Project Storefronts.

“I commend Musical Intervention for helping often marginalized segments of our population express themselves and connect with the community through music. As both a social service and an artistic endeavor, this business is a perfect candidate for Project Storefronts. The City of New Haven is grateful for the work of Project Storefronts and wishes Musical Intervention much success in its new home,” said Mayor Harp.

Adam Christoferson, founder and CEO of Musical Intervention said, “This is the first time that we’ve had a home and we have Project Storefronts to thank. We will truly make this location a home by building something important for the City of New Haven and its residents. Our mission is to inspire people, to help them learn and grow by writing, recording and performing original music.”

Christoferson, who has a degree in recreation therapy and a gift for creating songs, founded Musical Intervention 10 years ago as a mobile recording studio, writing and recording original music with homeless people, veterans, residents with behavioral issues and people recovering from substance abuse, among others. They have worked with Yale-New Haven Hospital, Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Mid-Fairfield Child Guidance Center, Riverview Hospital, West Haven’s Community House, and other social service agencies. Musical Intervention has been awarded grants by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, National Endowment of the Arts and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

“It helps me remember that I’m free,” said Destiny, a Musical Intervention participant.

The 1200-square foot space at 23 Temple Street has a main room with a stage and a smaller classroom that includes musical equipment and the mobile recording unit. Musical Intervention will offer music lessons, including drum lessons, guitar and piano lessons, songwriting workshops, recording services and rehearsal space for all citizens ages 13 and up. Musical instruments and microphones can be provided. Listening stations will be available in the afternoon for people to use during lunch hours. Fees may apply on a sliding scale. The public is invited to shop in the retail section, visit the listening stations, grab a drop-in music lesson and consult with the staff about their musical needs 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with groups coming in by appointment and special events to be posted. Businesses can also hire Musical Intervention clients to write original jingles.

“Located across the street from a movie theatre and near restaurants on a busy part of Temple Street, Musical Intervention is set up to draw foot traffic and help its clients connect with the broader community. It will bring the work Adam is doing to a culmination that he wouldn’t have had without the space,” said Elinor Slomba, Director of Project Storefronts.

“Musical Intervention has long offered a valuable service and now, with a storefront on a popular block, the program has become a viable business that will benefit people who walk through their door and the City of New Haven as a whole,” said Matthew Nemerson, Economic Development Administrator for the City of New Haven.

Project Storefronts was launched in 2009 by the New Haven Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism with support from the Economic Development Corporation of New Haven and New Haven’s Department of Economic Development. The program helps artists and entrepreneurs find retail space in empty storefronts across the City. For more information on Project Storefronts, visit here.