“JAZZ
 PARA
 EL
 AUTISMO”
 
 
Reflective
 Paper
 
by
 Felipe
 Saalfeld
 
Project
 Supervisor:
 Graham
 Ball
 
Global
 Entertainment
 &
 Music
 Business
 
Berklee
 College
 of
 Music
 
July
 26th
 2015
 

 


 

1.Summary
 of
 the
 Project
 
“Jazz
 Para
 El
 Autismo”
  was
  a
  collaborative
  Project
  between
  the
  Contemporary
  Performance
 
(CP)
  and
  the
  Global
  Entertainment
  and
  Music
  Business
  (GEMB)
  Master
  Programs
  at
 
Berklee
  Valencia.
  Jacopo
  Mezzanotti
  (Artistic
  Director,
  CP
  Program)
  and
  Felipe
  Saalfeld
 
(myself,
 as
 head
 manager,
 producer
 and
 promoter,
 GEMB
 Program)
 joined
 forces
 together
 
to
  create
  a
  unique
  an
  innovative
  show,
  in
  the
  form
  of
  a
  Symphonic
  Jazz
  concert,
  to
  be
 
presented
 to
 the
 local
 Valencian
 community
 and
 raising
 funds
 for
 a
 local
 NGO.
 

 

Artistic
 perspective:
 Symphonic
 Jazz
 Concert
 
From
  an
  artistic
  perspective,
  the
  concert
  featured
  mostly
  Jacopo’s
  original
  Jazz
 
compositions,
 all
 arranged
 by
 himself
 in
 a
 very
 innovative
 way
 for
 performing
 live
 for
 his
 
Netherlands
 based
 Jazz
 band
 “Joe
 Midnights
 Space
 Trio”1
 together
 with
 a
 Classic
 Symphony
 
orchestra
 and
 a
 Jazz
 Big
 Band
 on
 stage.
 Today,
 the
 “Metropole
  Orkest”2
 founded
 in
 1945
 in
 
Netherlands,
 is
 one
 of
 the
 unique
 examples
 of
 a
 project
 that
 arranges
 contemporary
 music
 
in
  this
  way
  for
  all
  kinds
  of
  artists,
  such
  as:
  Pat
  Metheny,
  Snarky
  Puppy,
  Ella
 
Fitzgerald,
 Dizzy
  Gillespie,
 Al
  Jarreau,
 Bono,
 Elvis
  Costello,
 Within
  Temptation,
  John
 
Scofield,
 Steve
 Vai,
 etc.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1
 Jacopo
 Mezzanotti,
 http://www.jacopomezzanotti.com/
 
 
2
 Metropole
 Orkest,
 http://www.mo.nl/en/


 


 

2
 


 

Social
 perspective:
 MUA
 Organization
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The
  concert
  was
  with
  non-­‐profit
  purposes.
 
  All
  profit
  generated
  from
  the
  concert
  was
 
donated
  for
  an
  emerging
  NGO
  from
  Valencia
  called
  MUA
  organization3,“Música
  para
  el
 
Autismo”
 (Music
  for
  the
  Autism),
  which
  works
  doing
  alternative
  music
  therapies
  for
  kids
 
with
 autism.
 
 As
 described
 on
 their
 webpage
 by
 Jordi
 Ardit,
 director
 of
 the
 NGO:
 
 
“We
 are
 a
 non-­‐profit
 organization
 with
 our
 head
 office
 in
 Valencia
 (Spain)
 that
 aims
 to
 help
 
people
 with
 autism
 to
 improve
 their
 personal
 development
 through
 music”.
  The
  money
  raised
 
will
 help
 the
 NGO
 to
 keep
 on
 with
 their
 fund
 programs
 for
 families
 in
 social
 risk
 in
 need
 for
 
therapy
 for
 their
 children.
 
 

 

General
 Outcomes
 
-­‐

Date/time:
 May
 26th
 2015
 at
 8:30
 PM
 
 

-­‐

Venue:
 Espai
 La
 Rambleta4,
 Valencia,
 Spain
 

-­‐

The
 Stage:
 47
 artists
 on
 stage,
 including
 the
 Jazz
 trio,
 the
 symphony
 orchestra,
 the
 
big
 band,
 the
 director,
 and
 the
 special
 guests
 

-­‐

Attendance:
  Almost
  full
  house,
  589
  (out
  of
  650
  available)
  successfully
  delivered
 
tickets,
 being
 495
 sold
 tickets
 and
 94
 courtesy
 tickets.
 
 

-­‐

Total
 NGO
 net
 profit
 raised:
 4777.12
 €
 


 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3
 MUA
 “Música
 Para
 el
 Autismo”,
 http://musicaparaelautismo.org/en/
 

4
 Espai
 La
 Rambleta,
 http://larambleta.com/
 


 

3
 


 

2.Process
 
The
 “Lunch
 Accident”
 
September
  2014,
  at
  Berklee
  Valencia’s
  cantina.
  At
  that
  time
  I
  was
  still
  confused
  with
  lots
  of
 
different
 ideas
 for
 the
 concept
 I
 wanted
 for
 my
 CE.
 Nevertheless,
 I
 already
 knew
 I
 wanted
 to
 
make
  a
  live
  intervention,
  something
  big,
  and
  also
  challenging.
  Therefore,
  I
  was
  trying
  to
 
find
 if
 someone
 in
 Berklee
 was
 also
 in
 my
 “frequency”,
 so
 I
 wanted
 to
 meet
 as
 much
 people
 
I
 could
 and
 talk
 about
 projects.
 I
 had
 already
 met
 Jacopo
 at
 that
 point,
 but
 just
 having
 quick
 
hall
  conversations,
  random
  chatting.
  That
  specific
  day,
  I
  joined
  Jacopo
  for
  lunch,
  but
  we
 
didn’t
  discuss
  anything
  about
  CE.
  We
  were
  sharing
  music
  tastes,
  until
  he
  told
  me
  that
  he
 
would
 love
 to
 make
 a
 project
 here
 in
 Berklee
 where
 he
 could
 present
 his
 music
 arranged
 
for
  an
  orchestra,
  but
  regarding
  the
  fact
  of
  just
  writing
  the
  arrangements
  would
  take
  him
  so
 
much
  time,
  he
  was
  searching
  for
  someone
  interested
  in
  helping
  to
  make
  this
  a
  real
 
professional
 spectacle.
 I
 felt
 that
 I
 was
 in
 the
 exact
 place
 where
 I
 was
 meant
 to
 be
 at
 that
 
moment.
  I
  showed
  my
  interest
  to
  Jacopo,
  and
  we
  organized
  so
  we
  could
  meet
  together
 
again
  and
  discuss
  this
  more
  in
  depth.
  It
  turns
  that
  his
  inspiration
  was
  the
  music
 
arrangements-­‐type
 of
 thing
 that
 the
 Metropole
 Orkest
 does.
 He
 was
 particularly
 inspired
 by
 
the
  concert
  of
  Pat
  Metheny
  featuring
  the
  Metropole
  Orkest.
  For
  his
  undergrad,
  he
  did
  a
 
small
  orchestral
  set
  and
  recorded
  it
  as
  a
  live-­‐promo
  documentary
  for
  his
  band
  “Joe
 
Midnights
 Space
 Trio”.
 I
 could
 imagine
 the
 artistic
 concept
 perfectly.
 As
 for
 me,
 I
 was
 also
 
familiar
 with
 the
 Metropole
 Orkest,
 inspired
 by
 progressive
 rock
 guitar
 player
 Steve
 Vai’s
 
live
  DVD
  “Visual
  Sound
  Theories”.
  I
  could
  understand
  and
  feel
  the
  passion
  behind
  this,
  and
 


 

4
 

the
 importance
 of
 achieving
 this
 challenge,
 artistically.
 I
 felt
 I
 was
 at
 the
 right
 place,
 and
 I
 
told
  him
  I
  wanted
  to
  be
  100%
  full
  time
  committed
  to
  this
  project,
  and
  make
  it
  my
 
culminating
  experience
  as
  well
  at
  Berklee.
  We
  made
  a
  first
  draft
  proposal,
  and
  went
  to
 
discuss
 this
 project
 with
 my
 program
 director
 Emilien
 Moyon.
 The
 rest
 of
 this
 challenge
 is
 
history
 now.
 
 

 

Going
 no-­‐profit
 
We
 had
 a
 difficult
 challenge
 already,
 in
 terms
 of
 production.
 In
 addition,
 we
 knew
 that
 as
 
foreigner
  Master
  Students
  we
  could
  give
  away
  something
  more
  to
  our
  hosting
  city
  of
 
Valencia.
 We
 came
 out
 with
 the
 idea
 of
 making
 this
 concert
 as
 a
 fundraiser
 for
 charity.
 I
 got
 
together
  with
  Clara
  Barberá
  (Student’s
  affairs)
  and
  she
  gave
  me
  a
  list
  of
  local
  charities
  that
 
we
 could
 cooperate
 for.
 “Música
 Para
 El
 Autismo”
 (MUA)
 gained
 our
 attention
 immediately
 
as
  it
  was
  the
  only
  one
  related
  with
  music
  and
  also
  Jacopo
  and
  me
  have
  already
  had
 
experience
 with
 kids
 with
 autism.
 I
 decided
 I
 would
 write
 to
 them
 first,
 receiving
 an
 almost
 
immediate
  response
  from
  their
  director
  Jordi
  Ardit.
  He
  told
  me
  he
  already
  had
  a
  great
 
experience
 with
 Berklee
 when
 they
 did
 2014’s
 Version
 of
 the
 Berklee
 Ball
 as
 a
 fundraiser
 
for
  the
  NGO.
  Personally,
  I
  think
  that
  as
  musicians,
  or
  content
  producers,
  we
  have
  a
 
fundamental
 social
 role.
 From
 my
 point
 of
 view,
 we
 make
 music
 and
 generate
 experiences
 
as
  pure
  ways
  of
  culture,
  art
  and
  entertainment.
  MUA
  is
  using
  music
  for
  healing
  people.
  Not
 
only
 children
 with
 Autism,
 but
 also
 families
 that
 have
 loss
 their
 faith
 in
 ways
 society
 could
 
incorporate
  their
  children
  and
  bring
  happiness
  to
  them.
  It’s
  the
  music.
  Music
  is
  the
 
connection
  between
  us,
  and
  is
  what
  made
  us
  commit
  to
  get
  as
  much
  funds
  possible
  for
 
helping
 MUA
 continue
 their
 important
 and
 noble
 labor.
 


 

5
 


 

3.Results:
 how
 the
 project
 did
 and
 did
 
not
 align
 with
 expectations
 

 

My
 overall
 goals
 for
 this
 project
 were
 2:
 
 

1. Produce
 a
 unique
 an
 innovative
 concert
 on
 a
 professional
 level
 and
 present
 it
 to
 a
 
large
 number
 of
 patrons
 in
 the
 city
 of
 Valencia.
 
2. Get
  at
  least
  80%
  of
  the
  ticketing
  income
  to
  the
  NGO,
  understanding
  that
  the
 
remaining
 20%
 would
 cover
 inevitable
 costs
 for
 the
 production
 of
 the
 concert.
 
The
 first
 important
 achievement
 was
 selecting
 and
 booking
 our
 venue.
 Making
 this
 decision
 
was
 a
 key
 element
 for
 our
 show,
 at
 the
 same
 time
 as
 facing
 our
 first
 challenge:
 get
 a
 650
 
seats
  capacity
  theater
  sold.
  Realistically,
  we
  knew
  that
  this
  goal
  was
  quite
  ambitious,
  as
  we
 
are
  presenting
  Jacopo’s
  band
  as
  headliner,
  which
  is
  not
  known
  here
  in
  Valencia.
  Part
  of
  my
 
ticketing
 strategy
 was
 to
 consider
 giving
 away
 a
 maximum
 of
 100
 tickets
 as
 guest-­‐special
 
invitations,
  so
  we
  could
  assure
  a
  minimum
  attendance.
  The
  reality
  was,
  we
  were
  able
  to
 
deliver
 589
 tickets,
 meaning
 we
 got
 about
 90%
 of
 the
 capacity
 of
 the
 theater.
 Because
 all
 
the
 general
 seats
 were
 used,
 the
 theater
 looked
 almost
 full
 house.
 Being
 that
 said,
 the
 only
 
empty
 seats
 were
 the
 very
 limited
 upper
 balcony
 ones.
 Great
 achievement!
 

 
The
  experience
  of
  making
  a
  crowdfunding
  campaign
  was
  new
  and
  challenging
  for
  me
  as
 
well.
  I
  wanted
  to
  raise
  2000
  €
  in
  a
  one
  month
  campaign,
  expecting
  that
  my
  social
  media
 
campaign
  would
  help
  me
  to
  have
  mostly
  Spanish
  Valencian
  donors.
  Before
  launching
  the
 
campaign,
 we
 crafted
 a
 2
 minutes
 call
 of
 action
 video
 with
 the
 help
 of
 my
 GEMB
 peers
 Oscar
 


 

6
 

Tecuanhuey
 and
 Oliver
 Chiu.
 The
 launch
 and
 the
 first
 week
 of
 campaign
 started
 well.
 But
 as
 
days
  passed
  over,
  I
  could
  see
  how
  the
  buzz
  and
  the
  energy
  was
  decreasing.
  After
 
commissions,
  we
  raised
  1086
  €
  from
  this
  campaign,
  with
  most
  of
  the
  donators
  being
  my
 
family
 and
 close
 friends,
 instead
 of
 people
 from
 Valencia.
 Not
 my
 expectations
 at
 all.
 
 

 
As
  the
  project
  was
  starting
  to
  take
  form,
  we
  were
  still
  raising
  funds.
  So
  it
  was
  very
 
important
  to
  keep
  control
  of
  the
  budget.
  Every
  euro
  my
  team
  wanted
  to
  spend
  was
  a
  trade
 
off
  as
  far
  as
  extra
  non-­‐ticketing
  potential
  income
  for
  the
  NGO.
  Therefore,
  our
  decisions
 
where
  based
  on
  how
  the
  investments
  (as
  we
  did
  for
  example
  with
  the
  high-­‐resolution
 
physical
 programs,
 or
 the
 special
 awards
 for
 the
 musicians)
 would
 extremely
 benefit
 and
 
enhance
  the
  experience
  for
  our
  audience
  or
  our
  artists,
  making
  the
  event
  more
 
professional.
 
 
The
  date
  of
  the
  concert
  was
  getting
  near
  and
  we
  started
  facing
  last
  minute
  problems,
 
mostly
  a
  bunch
  of
  musicians
  from
  the
  orchestra
  who
  left
  the
  project
  3
  days
  before
  the
 
concert,
  unbelievably.
  In
  addition
  to
  the
  artistic
  chaos
  we
  struggle
  trying
  to
  find
 
replacements,
 this
 was
 delaying
 the
 delivery
 of
 the
 program
 of
 the
 event.
 Somehow
 I
 finally
 
finished
 working
 it
 with
 the
 help
 of
 my
 GEMB
 fellow
 Fernanda
 Gomez
 one
 day
 at
 5
 in
 the
 
morning
 doing
 the
 last
 minute
 changes
 before
 our
 deadline
 for
 sending
 them
 to
 print.
 
 
Choosing
 and
 then
 coaching
 the
 volunteers
 for
 the
 day
 of
 the
 event
 was
 very
 challenging
 as
 
well.
  First
  of
  all,
  we
  created
  a
  very
  detailed
  timeline
  and
  show-­‐flow
  for
  the
  event
  with
 
Jacopo,
 which
 I
 would
 be
 presenting
 the
 day
 before
 the
 concert
 in
 a
 general
 meeting
 with
 
my
 different
 teams
 (stage,
 recorded-­‐audio
 and
 hosting).
 As
 an
 overall,
 the
 teams
 did
 a
 great
 
job,
  following
  almost
  every
  detail
  I
  wanted,
  and
  also
  being
  fast
  and
  creative
  when
  facing
 


 

7
 

specially
  stage
  production
  logistic
  problems.
  They
  knew
  they
  had
  to
  follow
  the
  precise
 
instructions
  that
  the
  production
  manager
  I
  chose,
  my
  fellow
  GEMB
  Alejandro
  Morales,
 
would
 tell
 them
 from
 the
 upper
 cabin,
 where
 I
 was
 also
 supervising
 everything.
 
 

 
Lastly,
 from
 the
 589
 tickets
 delivered,
 we
 sold
 495
 and
 we
 delivered
 94
 to
 our
 guests
 (from
 
the
 100
 maximum
 that
 I
 calculated
 previously).
 With
 this
 being
 said,
 and
 considering
 our
 
available
  budget
  and
  our
  expenses,
  we
  raised
  4777.12
  €
  for
  Música
 Para
 el
 Autismo.
  This
 
amount
 corresponds
 to
 the
 98%
 of
 the
 direct
 ticket
 revenue
 stream,
 raising
 my
 initial
 goal
 
from
 80%
 to
 98%.
 
 
It’s
  an
  overall
  success,
  and
  despite
  the
  fact
  I
  couldn’t
  make
  the
  100%
  ticket
  revenue,
  or
  the
 
650
 seats,
 we
 all
 did
 a
 fantastic
 job
 accomplishing
 all
 our
 goals.
 
 

 

4.Next
 step
 
The
  Concert
  and
  the
  project
  itself
  received
  a
  great
  acceptance
  throughout
  the
  Valencian
 
community.
  Lots
  of
  members
  from
  our
  audience
  and
  also
  some
  of
  our
  musicians
  reached
 
out
 to
 us
 immediately
 after
 the
 show
 to
 ask
 when
 the
 concert
 would
 take
 place
 again.
 We
 
felt
  really
  happy
  to
  have
  delivered
  a
  great
  experience,
  both
  to
  our
  audience
  and
  to
  our
 
musicians
  and
  staff,
  playing
  music
  for
  a
  good
  and
  noble
  cause
  as
  Música
 Para
 el
 Autismo.
 
Since
 the
 overall
 success,
 we
 are
 in
 conversations
 now
 in
 between
 Jacopo
 and
 Jordi
 Ardit
 
(NGO
  Director)
  to
  establish
  the
  name
  (brand)
  “Jazz
  Para
  El
  Autismo”
  and
  make
  this
  an
 
annual
  concert
  in
  a
  bigger
  scale,
  or
  perhaps
  a
  tour
  through
  Spain
  and
  Europe
  in
  the
  future.
 
For
 doing
 this,
 we
 understand
 we
 have
 to
 have
 a
 managing
 team
 as
 well
 as
 a
 local
 promoter
 


 

8
 

and
 producer
 involved
 and
 interested.
 Since
 I’m
 going
 to
 be
 working
 in
 Madrid,
 I’m
 going
 to
 
be
  involved
  more
  like
  a
  consultant
  for
  the
  project.
  Going
  further,
  I
  think
  I
  can
  use
  my
 
professional
 experience
 so
 I
 can
 do
 general
 consulting
 services
 for
 this
 kind
 of
 projects
 in
 
the
  near
  future.
  I
  hereby
  encourage
  the
  Berklee
  faculty
  to
  motivate
  future
  students
  for
 
making
  more
  big
  productions
  at
  the
  same
  time
  as
  helping
  NGO’s
  like
  MUA.
  Collaboration
 
spirit
  is
  one
  of
  my
  core
  competences,
  and
  I
  also
  encourage
  Berklee
  to
  make
  more
  multi-­‐
programs
 cross
 collaborations.
 
 

 

5.Contribution
 to
 the
 discipline
 and
 
profession
 

 
Organizing
  this
  project
  implied
  high
  level
  of
  logistics,
  team
  working
  and
  fast
  decision-­‐
making.
 
 
Since
  I
  want
  to
  make
  a
  career
  in
  Live
  Entertainment,
  as
  a
  producer
  or
  promoter,
  I
 
understand
 the
 importance
 of
 all
 these
 elements
 regarding
 a
 live
 show.
 
 
As
  from
  the
  production-­‐wise,
  we
  had
  to
  figure
  out
  how
  to
  make
  this
  concert
  from
  zero.
  We
 
didn’t
 have
 money,
 we
 didn’t
 have
 any
 equipment
 available
 nor
 any
 place
 to
 fit
 more
 than
 
40
  musicians.
  Also,
  we
  were
  making
  a
  very
  unique
  artistic
  configuration,
  which
  needs
 
special
  knowledge
  from
  people
  that
  are
  going
  to
  work
  on
  the
  audio
  reinforcement.
  I’m
 
talking
  specifically
  to
  put
  a
  Jazz
  trio
  with
  a
  symphony
  orchestra
  and
  a
  jazz
  big
  band
  all
 
together.
  As
  far
  as
  what
  will
  be
  the
  challenges
  I
  will
  face
  in
  the
  future,
  I
  feel
  more
  prepared
 
for
  “orchestral-­‐wise”
  details
  from
  a
  production
  point
  of
  view,
  which
  I
  personally
  feel
 
fascinated
 for.
 
 


 

9
 

Being
 patient
 and
 flexible
 is
 another
 lifetime
 in-­‐development
 skill
 that
 will
 help
 me
 in
 my
 
profession
  (perhaps
  in
  all
  professions!
  as
  a
  very
  transversal
  soft
  skill).
  As
  a
  leader,
  it’s
  very
 
important
  to
  show
  yourself
  calm
  in
  critical
  moments,
  so
  your
  team
  will
  not
  loose
  their
 
focus.
 Delegating
 is
 another
 story.
 As
 the
 passionate
 leader
 of
 a
 project,
 I
 want
 everything
 
as
 perfect
 as
 possible,
 and
 I
 know
 I’m
 capable
 for
 doing
 it
 because
 I
 trust
 myself.
 But
 team
 
working
  is
  not
  only
  about
  trusting
  yourself,
  but
  also
  trusting
  your
  team.
  It
  is
  physically
 
impossible
  to
  be
  responsible
  for
  everything
  in
  a
  complex
  operational
  project,
  so
  delegating
 
becomes
  a
  crucial
  element.
  For
  that,
  personally,
  I
  like
  to
  feel
  comfortable
  and
  select
  by
 
myself
  who
  is
  going
  to
  be
  involved
  in
  my
  projects.
  Jazz
  Para
  El
  Autismo
  has
  been
  a
  great
 
experience
 for
 developing
 my
 leadership.
 
 
One
  last
  contribution,
  very
  important
  for
  the
  Live
  Entertainment
  world,
  was
  networking
 
with
  a
  lot
  of
  people
  throughout
  the
  process.
  We
  talked
  to
  a
  lot
  of
  artists,
  promoters,
  and
 
different
  audio-­‐visual
  experts
  that
  gave
  us
  their
  input
  for
  the
  project,
  as
  well
  as
  some
 
collaboration
 for
 the
 concert
 itself.
 When
 giving
 flyers
 and
 promoting
 the
 concert,
 people
 
really
  react
  different
  when
  the
  producer
  of
  the
  concert
  is
  the
  one
  doing
  the
  “guerilla
 
marketing”.
 I
 felt
 a
 lot
 of
 support
 and
 I
 established
 important
 professional
 and
 also
 random
 


 
 

casual
 connections
 with
 entertainment
 professionals
 as
 well
 as
 music
 lovers.


 

 

 

 

 

10
 


 

6.Impact
 on
 the
 student
 completing
 the
 
work
 

As
  a
  more
  personal
  point
  of
  view,
  working
  with
  Jacopo
  has
  been
  my
  highest
  approach
  to
 
the
  Jazz
  world
  ever.
  Most
  of
  my
  personal
  projects
  are
  related
  to
  rock,
  pop,
  electronic
  or
 
progressive
 instrumental
 oriented.
 I’ve
 opened
 my
 mind
 to
 understanding
 more
 the
 ideas
 
and
 the
 creative
 process
 of
 a
 Jazz
 virtuoso.
 
 
I
 faced
 a
 lot
 of
 emotions
 during
 the
 process
 of
 making
 this
 project.
 Mostly,
 I
 received
 a
 lot
 of
 
good
  responses
  and
  positivism
  from
  my
  peers,
  my
  supervisors
  and
  the
  city
  of
  Valencia.
 
Nevertheless,
  I
  faced
  hard
  criticism
  and
  “pushing-­‐down”
  adversity.
  Some
  people
  didn’t
 
believe
  that
  I
  was
  really
  going
  to
  be
  able
  to
  make
  this
  project
  happen.
  They
  thought
  this
 
idea
  was
  out
  of
  boundaries
  for
  a
  school
  project
  and
  kept
  pointing
  the
  impossibility
  of
 
handling
 so
 much
 complexity,
 on
 a
 logistics
 and
 production
 point
 of
 view.
 This
 happened
 to
 
our
  team
  in
  different
  levels.
  The
  key
  was
  our
  unity
  and
  our
  self-­‐team
  support.
  In
  a
  way,
  we
 
inverted
 roles
 being
 “psychologists”
 to
 each
 other,
 in
 the
 way
 that
 when
 I
 was
 injected
 with
 
bad
 feelings
 Jacopo
 was
 pushing
 me
 up,
 and
 vice-­‐versa.
 
 
Lastly,
 and
 personally,
 my
 most
 important
 personal
 impact
 was
 to
 involve
 myself
 with
 an
 
NGO
  related
  with
  autism.
  Part
  of
  my
  personal
  story
  is
  growing
  up
  with
  a
  close
  family’s
  son
 
who
 was
 born
 with
 a
 high
 level
 of
 Autism.
 Today,
 Diego
 is
 18
 years
 old,
 and
 he
 is
 available
 
to
 speak
 and
 to
 read,
 even
 finishing
 traditional
 basic
 education
 (before
 high
 school)
 as
 his
 
highest
  achievement.
  I
  know
  him
  since
  little
  and
  I’ve
  witnessed
  all
  his
  progress.
 
Nevertheless,
 this
 progress
 would
 not
 be
 possible
 without
 the
 constant
 push
 of
 a
 family
 full
 
of
  love
  surrounding
  him.
  When
  I
  met
  Jordi
  Ardit,
  the
  NGO’s
  director,
  I
  felt
  this
  same
  love
 


 

11
 

and
 push
 from
 himself
 and
 his
 family
 for
 his
 son
 (which
 coincidently
 is
 also
 called
 Diego).
 
Discovering
 that
 his
 little
 boy
 reacted
 different
 and
 positive
 with
 musical
 stimulus
 was
 his
 
inspiration
 for
 creating
 MUA.
 I
 deeply
 felt
 that
 connection
 and
 I
 definitely
 wanted
 to
 help
 as
 
much
  as
  I
  could
  with
  this
  project.
  For
  our
  crowdfunding
  video,
  we
  went
  to
  visit
  one
  of
 
MUA’s
 therapy
 centers.
 It’s
 really
 difficult
 to
 explain
 how
 I
 felt
 in
 that
 moment,
 but
 for
 sure,
 
I
 was
 totally
 convinced
 that
 I
 was
 doing
 exactly
 what
 I
 had
 to
 do,
 helping
 this
 noble
 cause
 
acknowledging
 the
 daily
 efforts
 that
 all
 these
 families
 do
 for
 their
 children.
 
 

 

7.References
 
Jacopo
 Mezzanotti
 official,
 http://www.jacopomezzanotti.com/
 
 
Metropole
 Orkest
 official,
 http://www.mo.nl/en/
 
MUA
 “Música
 Para
 el
 Autismo”,
 http://musicaparaelautismo.org/en/
 
Espai
 La
 Rambleta,
 http://larambleta.com/
 


 

 


 

12