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Inmates need to laugh and they need to hear music, but I think more than anything else, they need to be treated like regular
people by someone from the outside who has nothing at stake in their lives, but is willing to talk to them, play music for them,
and make them laugh. It’s not a lot, but it can have real and positive meaning for inmates. Clearly the response that I get for
my stories is wonderful, and that’s always what performers want, but the response to the Bach Suite somehow goes deeper. I
can feel a kind of quieting in the room, a draining of tension, and even though it’s not music they may be used to, I feel them
moved by it. After one performance, an inmate told me with kind of an amazed expression on his face, "That music (the
Bach) made me feel so relaxed."
Richard “Dobbs” Hartshorne
people by someone from the outside who has nothing at stake in their lives, but is willing to talk to them, play music for them,
and make them laugh. It’s not a lot, but it can have real and positive meaning for inmates. Clearly the response that I get for
my stories is wonderful, and that’s always what performers want, but the response to the Bach Suite somehow goes deeper. I
can feel a kind of quieting in the room, a draining of tension, and even though it’s not music they may be used to, I feel them
moved by it. After one performance, an inmate told me with kind of an amazed expression on his face, "That music (the
Bach) made me feel so relaxed."
Richard “Dobbs” Hartshorne
The Prison Concert Project is supported in part by a grant
from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and
the National Endowment for the Arts.
from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and
the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2004, BWV began presenting Dobbs’ One Man Show in New Hampshire
state prisons as well as the Long Creek Youth Development Center in Maine.
Dobbs' performance at the youth center inspired a group of local residents to
start a program bringing music to the facility monthly. A member of the
Portland Conservatory now regularly teaches guitar and keyboard lessons. In
2005, BWV’s prison program expanded to Connecticut as well as San Quentin
State Prison in California. Having now reached a third of California’s
numerous facilities, BWV continues to expand its reach to additional prisons
through their Arts-in-Corrections program. The program is now expanding to
New York state. BWV has as board members a New Hampshire State warden
and an ex-inmate who was inspired first-hand by Dobbs’ performance.
state prisons as well as the Long Creek Youth Development Center in Maine.
Dobbs' performance at the youth center inspired a group of local residents to
start a program bringing music to the facility monthly. A member of the
Portland Conservatory now regularly teaches guitar and keyboard lessons. In
2005, BWV’s prison program expanded to Connecticut as well as San Quentin
State Prison in California. Having now reached a third of California’s
numerous facilities, BWV continues to expand its reach to additional prisons
through their Arts-in-Corrections program. The program is now expanding to
New York state. BWV has as board members a New Hampshire State warden
and an ex-inmate who was inspired first-hand by Dobbs’ performance.
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Facilities Visited
California Institution for Women, Corona, CA
California Institution for Men, Chino, CA
California Medical Facility, Vacaville, CA
California Rehabilitation Center, Norca, CA
California State Prison – LA County, Lancaster, CA
California State Prison – Sacramento, Represa, CA
California State Prison – Solano, Vacaville, CA
Cayuga Correctional Facility, Moravia, NY
Cheshire Correctional Facility, Cheshire, CT
Correctional Training Facility – Soledad, Soledad, CA
Corrigan Correctional Facility, Uncasville, CT
Elmira Correctional Facility, Elmira, NY
Folsom State Prison, Represa, CA
Groveland Correctional Facility, Sonyea, NY
Harriet Tubman Residential Center, Auburn, NY
Henry Ohloff Adult Drug Rehab, Novoto, CA
Lakes Region Correctional Facility, Laconia, NH
Livingston Correctional Facility, Sonyea, NY
Longcreek Youth Development Center, Long Creek, ME
Manchester Youth Development Center, Manchester, NH
Marcy Correctional Facility, Marcy, NY
Marin County Juvenile Hall, San Rafael, CA
Northern Correctional Facility, Berlin, NH
Radgowski Correctional Center, Uncasville, CT
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, San Diego, CA
San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, CA
State Prison for Women, Goffstown, NH
Transition Learning Center, San Pablo, CA
Westmoreland Dept of Corrections, Westmoreland, NH
York Correctional Institution, Niantic, CT
California Institution for Women, Corona, CA
California Institution for Men, Chino, CA
California Medical Facility, Vacaville, CA
California Rehabilitation Center, Norca, CA
California State Prison – LA County, Lancaster, CA
California State Prison – Sacramento, Represa, CA
California State Prison – Solano, Vacaville, CA
Cayuga Correctional Facility, Moravia, NY
Cheshire Correctional Facility, Cheshire, CT
Correctional Training Facility – Soledad, Soledad, CA
Corrigan Correctional Facility, Uncasville, CT
Elmira Correctional Facility, Elmira, NY
Folsom State Prison, Represa, CA
Groveland Correctional Facility, Sonyea, NY
Harriet Tubman Residential Center, Auburn, NY
Henry Ohloff Adult Drug Rehab, Novoto, CA
Lakes Region Correctional Facility, Laconia, NH
Livingston Correctional Facility, Sonyea, NY
Longcreek Youth Development Center, Long Creek, ME
Manchester Youth Development Center, Manchester, NH
Marcy Correctional Facility, Marcy, NY
Marin County Juvenile Hall, San Rafael, CA
Northern Correctional Facility, Berlin, NH
Radgowski Correctional Center, Uncasville, CT
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, San Diego, CA
San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, CA
State Prison for Women, Goffstown, NH
Transition Learning Center, San Pablo, CA
Westmoreland Dept of Corrections, Westmoreland, NH
York Correctional Institution, Niantic, CT
