One Way to Fix Broken School Instruments: Call a Composer

In response to issues with funding for a Philadelphia school system's music program, Artist-in-Residence David Lang has been commissioned by Temple University's art gallery to create "Symphony for a Broken Orchestra," a symphony comprised predominantly of public school students playing broken instruments. Of the initiative, Lang says, “I thought, ‘I am a musician because there were instruments in my school.’ I had a visceral response to this project. Every one of these broken instruments is a kid who won’t have a life-changing experience."