Dallas Symphony Orchestra Announces Education Center In Cooperation with MIT Media Lab

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has announced plans for the Jeanne R. Johnson Education Center in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center that will serve students from first grade through high school.

The center is scheduled to open in fall 2024.

“The Johnson Education Center represents a bold vision for the next era of music education in Dallas and delivers on our ongoing commitment to make meaningful impact on children across Dallas in music education,” Cece Smith, chair of the DSO board of governors, said in a statement.

The 3,500-square-foot Jeanne R. Johnson Education Center in the Meyerson Symphony Center will provide music education to students from first grade through high school with STEAM-based learning activities that focus on dynamic music education utilizing cutting-edge technology including:

Orchestra conducting using virtual reality
Visual and dynamic AI components of sound waves
Science behind acoustics

The innovative new center, produced in cooperation with the Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab, will welcome thousands of children from first through 12th grade from across North Texas for field trips each year.

Starting music education early

DSO said the programming is aimed at specific age levels with on-site facilitators, the tickets to visit will be complimentary for students and families, and it will have complementary curriculum that will increase the students’ level of music appreciation.

“Currently, the DSO is limited by the fact that field trips are primarily offered during the two Youth Concert weeks. The Johnson Education Center will enable us to expand the number of students we serve by nearly 50,000 each year. It was also crucial that the center is located here at the Meyerson Symphony Center. We want the students to be in a space of music cultivation and learning to truly express themselves,” Kim Noltemy, Ross Perot president & CEO of the Dallas Symphony, said in a statement.

The space will be outfitted to also offer interactive opportunities with live musicians alongside innovative technology, games and more, all designed to create an educational and entertaining experience.

“The earlier students experience the joy of music, the better! Partnering with the DSO to create this Center continues to fulfill Jeanne’s lifelong passion of inspiring the next generation through music,” Ken Holden, board member of the Jeanne R. Johnson Foundation, said in a statement. “We are delighted to be involved in a remarkable endeavor that will foster music education and appreciation for students across Dallas and North Texas.”

Backstage tours and free instrument training

Depending on the age-level and prior musical knowledge of each group, the center also will be utilized to host master classes, workshops, and hands-on experiences that are tailored to each class’ needs, DSO said. The Johnson Education Center’s flexibility will ensure that students are more deeply engaged with music and the science/math behind it, DSO said.

“We are thrilled to work with the DSO on the new Johnson Education Center,” said Tod Machover, Muriel R. Cooper professor of music and media at the MIT Media Lab where he directs the Opera of the Future group. “Through the DSO’s gift to the Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab, we have a wonderful opportunity to enhance music listening and understanding for everyone with the help of cutting edge technologies, while opening doors to the creative uses of AI and the potential of music to enhance physical and mental wellbeing.”

DSO also will offer all attendees a continuum of DSO experiences to follow their visit—including access to the Student Card program that offers free rush tickets and opportunities to engage with the DSO’s instrument training programs.

As part of each student’s experience in the Johnson Education Center, they will be invited on a backstage tour of the Meyerson Symphony Center that includes rarely seen spaces such as the organ loft and reverberation chambers. DSO said that every space of the tour will connect back to what the child learned during their visit to the center.

“The Dallas Symphony recognizes the lasting impact that music education has on children and is committed to providing the in-depth engagement that the Center will offer to the thousands of children who will visit annually, including the more than 1,000 students in Southern Dallas who take part in the DSO’s free instrument training programs,” Noltemy said. “The Jeanne R. Johnson Education Center has the opportunity to elevate the Meyerson Symphony Center to more than a cultural landmark, but rather a space that the next generation of the Dallasites can call their own.”

DSO reaches beyond Dallas

Under the leadership of Music Director Fabio Luisi, the DSO presents more than 150 orchestra concerts at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, one of the world’s top-rated concert halls.

As the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the DSO is said it is committed to inspiring the broadest possible audience with distinctive classical programs, inventive pops concerts, and innovative multimedia presentations.

The orchestra reaches hundreds of thousands of adults and children annually through performances, educational programs, and community outreach initiatives.

Founded in 1900, DSO offers more than 200 outdoor chamber concerts in neighborhoods throughout Dallas every year, as well as continuing music lessons to more than 700 students as part of its Young Strings and Young Musicians programs.

The Dallas Symphony has used digital and broadcast media to share music beyond its geographic boundaries and has become a leader among American orchestras in digital distribution. The DSO also captures and streams concert performances for distribution online through its Next Stage Digital Concert Series, Presented by PNC Bank.