A recently launched initiative is bringing communities together and inspiring people to express themselves with one worldwide-recognized language: music. The Bridge Institute is establishing Universal Language Rooms in community centers from Richmond, Virginia, to New York City, and New Jersey- bringing people closer together with improvisational music.

Jason Caplan, the founder of the non-profit organization, The Bridge Institute, and the Universal Language Room, originally began to ponder how people could come together and communicate solely through music back in 2004. From this thought experiment, he began to create a format for people of any music skill level to speak through improvisational music. Merging his talent for improvisational music and his passion for community and personal meditation, Caplan has spent the last decade perfecting the Universal Language Room format.

The first Universal Language Room was launched in 2009 in Manhattan, bringing together Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Bahai musicians. Then, in 2011, Caplan met Joe Lubman. Lubman, a drummer and educator, would become The Bridge Institute’s first facilitator, setting up Universal Language Rooms in jails, autism summer camps, businesses, and community centers.

The Bridge Institute continues to meet new musicians to become facilitators and implement Universal Language Rooms in local communities. The non-profit organization seeks to establish Universal Language Rooms around the world to make communication by way of improvisational music as common as everyday language. By 2016, The Bridge Institute plans to have Universal Language Rooms around the world, and the organization plans to train 1,000 facilitators to lead them.

For more information about the Universal Language Room, please visit www.universalroom.com

About The Bridge Institute

The Bridge Institute is devoted to teaching improvisational music as a language for every day use, in building a true global community.

Contact:
Jason Caplan, Founder
The Bridge Institute / Universal Language Room
Richmond, Virginia, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.universalroom.com