This case study explores a year-long project in rural central Virginia and coordinated by Wintergreen Performing Arts, Inc. (WPAI), a music presenter primarily known for its summer classical music festival. In 2002, Preserving the Rural Soundscape linked together three separate elements. The first was the commission and world premiere of "Singing the Blue Ridge," a suite of songs by Dr. Judith Shatin, scored for electronic music, voice, and orchestra. The second element was a community dialogue process using a study circle to explore issues of land use, planning, and development—potent topics in a county known for its scenic beauty and threatened by rapid change. The third element was a school residency project in which fifth graders created original songs and explored sound as a science and an art. All three elements were stitched together through “soundwalks,” an opportunity to listen deeply to the rich layers of human and non-human sounds in the rural landscapes, or “soundscapes.”

Preserving the Rural Soundscape imparts lessons about the impact of organizational growth and transition on program implementation. The case study explores some of the socioeconomic tensions inherent in a retirement community/resort development located in a rural community, noting implications for audience development and civic engagement. It also documents some of the aesthetic conflicts that can arise during a civic engagement process when artistic quality includes several goals. Finally, the case study contains cautions about working slowly and intentionally to expand organizational capacity and the sometimes-invisible role of embedded organizational culture.

This case study explores a year-long project in rural central Virginia and coordinated by Wintergreen Performing Arts, Inc. (WPAI), a music presenter primarily known for its summer classical music festival. In 2002, Preserving the Rural Soundscape linked together three separate elements. The first was the commission and world premiere of "Singing the Blue Ridge," a suite of songs by Dr. Judith Shatin, scored for electronic music, voice, and orchestra. The second element was a community dialogue process using a study circle to explore issues of land use, planning, and development—potent topics in a county known for its scenic beauty and threatened by rapid change. The third element was a school residency project in which fifth graders created original songs and explored sound as a science and an art. All three elements were stitched together through “soundwalks,” an opportunity to listen deeply to the rich layers of human and non-human sounds in the rural landscapes, or “soundscapes.”

Preserving the Rural Soundscape imparts lessons about the impact of organizational growth and transition on program implementation. The case study explores some of the socioeconomic tensions inherent in a retirement community/resort development located in a rural community, noting implications for audience development and civic engagement. It also documents some of the aesthetic conflicts that can arise during a civic engagement process when artistic quality includes several goals. Finally, the case study contains cautions about working slowly and intentionally to expand organizational capacity and the sometimes-invisible role of embedded organizational culture.