MPR’s John Biewen profiles local composer Randall Davidson and the work of connecting artist with communities. For Davidson, that includes projects involving Hmong community and life stories of St. Paul public housing residents.

For 22 years, a New York-based organization called “Meet the Composer” has been pairing composers with orchestras and choral groups. The goal is to bring the people who write music in closer contact with those who perform it. In recent years, the organization has gone a step further. It has placed composers "in residence" at a public library in Queens, New York... a tenants' association in New Orleans... and the St. Paul Public Housing Agency.