ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Lowell String Project (LSP) as a dynamic, interactive musical organisation that unifies facets of a highly diverse community. It examines the LSP from a metaphorical perspective, using a biological model of ecological systems to understand the interwoven relationships among four elemental social spheres that make it possible: Child, Family, University, and City. The chapter highlights the various qualities of each sphere and shows how they interact to create an interconnected, distinct musical ecosystem with its own characteristics, functions, and challenges. Each sphere exists in mutual symbiosis with the others, which creates seamless interaction among them and makes the LSP possible. In turn, the LSP contributes to the health of the wider society as an embedded ecosystem.
