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Composing Community Global Organization

Composing Community Global Organization (CCGO) is an interdisciplinary organization dedicated to developing and supporting practices of communication, listening, and connection through structured, playful, and multisensory processes.

Founded by composer, conductor, and educator Keren Rosenbaum, CCGO grew out of long-term artistic, educational, and community-based work exploring how people relate, listen, and create together. What began as music-centered practice gradually evolved into a broader framework for communication and human development across diverse fields.

Today, CCGO serves as the organizational home of The Playground Approach (ALP), supporting its ongoing development and adaptation across artistic, educational, therapeutic, organizational, and community contexts.

From Arts and Education to Communication Development and Therapy

The roots of CCGO lie in artistic and educational settings, where Rosenbaum developed participatory music practices that emphasized listening, presence, and shared creation rather than performance or technical skill. These early practices, known as the Active Listening Playground, were used in schools, choirs, universities, and community projects as a way to strengthen collaboration, creativity, and group cohesion.

Over time, it became clear that these practices were doing more than supporting artistic learning. They were shaping how people attuned to one another, regulated interaction, and communicated beyond words. This realization led to a gradual expansion of the work into communication development and, later, therapeutic contexts.

As the work entered therapeutic and developmental settings, the emphasis shifted from active listening as a skill to attuned and reflexive listening as a relational capacity. This evolution marked the emergence of what is now called The Playground Approach (ALP).

The Playground Approach (ALP)

The Playground Approach (ALP) is a structured framework for developing communication and connection through playfulness, reflexive listening, and multisensory interaction.

Rather than treating communication as the transfer of messages, the Playground Approach focuses on communication as something that unfolds through timing, rhythm, movement, sound, attention, and shared presence. It is practiced through clearly designed processes that invite participants to explore how connection emerges in real time.

The approach is used across multiple fields, including:

Arts and cultural practice
Education and learning environments
Therapeutic and developmental work
Organizations and leadership development
Community and group-based initiatives

Each application is adapted to its specific context while remaining grounded in the same underlying principles and structure.

Tools and Practices

The Playground Approach is practiced through a set of original tools and exercises developed within CCGO. These tools work with sound, movement, silence, visual cues, and interaction to support listening, responsiveness, and shared exploration.

No prior musical or artistic experience is required. The tools are designed to be accessible while offering depth, allowing participants to engage at different levels of experience and ability.

Across contexts, the tools support participants in exploring roles such as initiating, responding, leading, following, and co-regulating within interaction.

Organizational Role of CCGO

CCGO functions as the organizational framework through which the Playground Approach is developed, facilitated, and carried into practice. This includes:

Program and curriculum development
Training and professional education
Workshops and facilitated processes
Collaborative projects with institutions and communities

CCGO has collaborated with universities, cultural organizations, and international initiatives, supporting work in education, community development, and therapeutic contexts.

An Evolving Framework

Both Composing Community Global Organization and The Playground Approach (ALP) are evolving structures. They continue to grow through practice, research, collaboration, and reflection.

At their core, they share a commitment to playfulness as a serious human capacity, and to communication as a shared, living process that can be practiced, supported, and developed across life contexts.

KEREN
ROSENBAUM

Keren Rosenbaum is an internationally acclaimed composer, conductor, performer, educator, and group facilitator. She began her music education at the age of 7, studying with L. Kogan and flute with Y. Arenheim. At 21, she moved to The Hague to further her studies in composition, electronic music, and music education at the Tel Aviv Academy under A. Shapira and L. Schidlowsky. She graduated with honors from the Royal Academy, where she studied with L. Andriessen, G. Bergeijk, R. DeMan, D. Wagenaar, and C. Barlow, and later completed her Master's degree at Brooklyn College under A. Walman and T. Leon.

In 1999, Keren curated her first interdisciplinary music festival and founded the REFLEX Ensemble, a global community of musicians and artists celebrated for their innovative exhibitions, workshops, and performances of Reflexive Music. Often described by audiences and performers as "passionately inventive" and "on the edge," Reflexive Music inspired the creation of the "ALP/Playground" Active
Listening Playground - a unique therapeutic approach and set of tools fostering deep engagement and creativity through active listening and the art of playfulness.

In 2013, Rosenbaum founded Composing Community Global Organization. This initiative is dedicated to spreading the practice of Reflexive Music through Active Listening, fostering creativity, innovation, and meaningful connections. The academy has collaborated with institutions such as Al Akhawayn University, Tel Aviv University, the Arts University in Helsinki, WE ACT, the Goethe Institute, Chelsea Art Museum in New York, Musicians without Borders, and the Peace Corps, among others.

Recognizing the transformative impact of her music and methodologies on communication and community development, Keren expanded her work to the corporate sphere by launching the Executive Playground Initiative. This initiative aims to bring playfulness and the art of infinite internal play to the work environment, enhancing creativity, collaboration, and well-being.

KEREN ROSENBAUM

operagame

The OperaGame Model of ALP/Playground

The OperaGame Model is the foundational structure of the ALP (Attune Listening Playground), organizing its exercises and activities into a dynamic and iterative framework. This model is designed to foster deeper interpersonal connection and creative exploration by guiding participants through four core stages:

Stages of the OperaGame Model

FIND
- Focus: Discovery and exploration.
- Participants identify elements, ideas, or sensations from their internal or external world, creating a starting point for engagement.
- Example in ALP: Participants might “focus” on a random word, emotion, or sensory experience to begin their interaction.
PLAY
- Focus: Experimentation and spontaneity.
- Participants engage with what they’ve found, exploring connections, experimenting with possibilities, and interacting freely with curiosity and imagination.
- Example in ALP: Exercises such as "CRUMPLE IT" or "I PAINT = YOU SING" encourage playful exploration, building a bridge between self-expression and attunement to others.
SHARE
- Focus: Communication and collaboration.
- Participants express the outcomes of their play, inviting others to engage, respond, or build upon their contributions. This stage nurtures connection and shared meaning-making.
- Example in ALP: Exercises such as "BOX IT," or "SITUATION FACTORY," that encourages participants to share their ideas and creations, fostering meaningful interactions and collaborative exploration.
CREATE
- Focus: Integration and transformation.
- The final stage centers on synthesizing discoveries and interactions into something new—whether that is a personal insight, a shared understanding, or a creative output that continues to evolve beyond the exercise.
- Example in ALP: Participants might co-create a collective narrative or design actionable insights inspired by exercises, carrying the experience into their broader lives.

Key Features of the OperaGame Model

Perspectives of I-YOU-WE-WORLD

Each stage encourages participants to engage with multiple perspectives:

I: Personal reflection and self-awareness.
YOU: Attunement to another’s experience or expression.
WE: Collaborative interaction and shared creation.
WORLD: Expansion to broader, universal contexts or systems.

Simultaneous Awareness and Flow

Participants practice simultaneous awareness of their own role and their interaction with others. This encourages harmony between personal and shared experiences, enabling deep interpersonal communication.

Iterative Nature

The process is flexible and non-linear. Participants may revisit any stage to deepen their understanding, refine their interactions, or explore new dimensions of creativity.

Creativity and Interpersonal Connection

The model bridges inner creativity with external connection, fostering an environment where personal growth and collaborative innovation are intertwined.

The OperaGame Model as Both Theory and Practice

The OperaGame Model serves not only as the theoretical foundation of the ALP/Playground but also as the structural framework for each individual tool and exercise within the program. Every tool is designed using this model, ensuring that participants experience the dynamic flow of FIND, PLAY, SHARE, and CREATE at every level of engagement. This integration reinforces the model’s principles while offering hands-on opportunities to embody its concepts.

For example:

The exercise "SITUATION FACTORY" reflects the model’s stages by guiding participants to find inspiration (Act 1), engage creatively (Acts 2 and 3), share imaginatively (Act 3), and integrate through collective reflection (Act 4).
Similarly, "BOX IT" invites participants to explore, surprise themselves, and co-create vivid experiences that embody the stages of the model.

This dual role of the OperaGame Model as both a theory and a compositional method ensures that ALP/Playground tools are not only aligned with its core philosophy but also actively bring it to life in practice.

Applications of the OperaGame Model

Personal Growth: Exercises can help individuals discover new perspectives, enhance emotional awareness, and ignite creativity.
Group Dynamics: The stages promote team collaboration, mutual understanding, and shared problem-solving.
Systemic Insight: The model can be applied to broader contexts, encouraging participants to reflect on and engage with complex systems and societal patterns.

The OperaGame Model transforms everyday interactions into opportunities for discovery, play, connection, and creation. By practicing its principles, participants cultivate skills in attunement, collaboration, and innovative thinking, making it a versatile tool for personal and collective transformation.