Grants to Orchestras
Application Deadline of February 14, 2019
Award Announced January 15, 2020
Some details of the projects listed below are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.
Albany Symphony (NY), $25,000
To support the American Music Festival including commissions.
Apollo’s Fire: The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, $40,000
To support performances of an early music program on period instruments with related educational activities.
Boston Symphony Orchestra, $75,000
To support a series of performances featuring contemporary works composed by women with related educational activities.
Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, $50,000
To support the Intensive Community Program, a string instrument training program.
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, $15,000
To support the West Side Connection, a community engagement program and concert.
Charlotte Symphony, $15,000
To support performances of composer William Brittelle’s Si Otsedoha (We’re Still Here) with related educational activities.
Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, $10,000
To support concerts of works by female composers and female guest artists with related educational activities.
Chicago Sinfonietta, $20,000
To support the commission and world premiere of a work by composer Courtney Bryan with related community engagement activities.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, $60,000
To support artist’s fees for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday.
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, $40,000
To support Classical Roots, a concert in celebration of African-American musical heritage.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago, $45,000
To support stipends for pre-professional musicians of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
The Cleveland Orchestra, $45,000
To support The Cleveland Orchestra’s concert performance of Alan Berg’s opera Lulu.
Colorado Springs Philharmonic, $10,000
To support a series of concerts.
Des Moines Symphony, $10,000
To support youth concerts.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, $50,000
To support performances with related community engagement activities.
El Paso Symphony Orchestra, $20,000
To support a youth orchestra festival.
Gateway Chamber Orchestra, $15,000
To support a recording of composer Jeffrey Wood’s Different Bodies.
Grand Rapids Symphony, $15,000
To support the Neighborhood Concert Series.
The Handel and Haydn Society, $40,000
To support performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with related community engagement Programming.
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, $20,000
To support the Beethoven 2020 series performed by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Kansas City Symphony, $15,000
To support concerts featuring pianist Emanuel Ax as part of the Isaac Stern centennial celebration.
Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, $20,000
To support Violins of Hope – Los Angeles County, a communitywide residency and performance program.
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, $25,000
To support an artist residency with cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
Los Angeles Philharmonic, $85,000
To support artist fees for the Power to the People Festival.
Louisville Orchestra, $15,000
To support musician’s fees for the Festival of American Music.
Minnesota Orchestra, $40,000
To support the Minnesota Orchestra’s professional development project for composers.
National Symphony Orchestra, $35,000
To support musicians’ fees for a performance project.
New Haven Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support a performance project of concert programs that will explore what it means to be an insider versus an outsider.
New World Symphony, $60,000
To support the professional musician development program.
Orchestra of St. Luke’s, $15,000
To support the Orchestra of St. Luke’s performances of free chamber music concerts throughout New York City.
Oregon Symphony, $20,000
To support guest artist fees for SoundSights, a series of multimedia concerts in collaboration with visual artists.
Oregon Symphony in Salem, $10,000
To support orchestral music performances for youth.
Pacific Symphony, $25,000
To support artist and composer fees for a commissioning and performance project featuring a new work by Frank Ticheli celebrating the 30th anniversary of Music Director Carl St. Clair.
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, $15,000
To support performances of Aci, Galatea, e Polifemo by George Frideric Handel, with reimagined recitatives by composer and sound designer Mark Grey.
Quad City Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support Karkinos, a commissioning and performance project featuring a new oratorio by composer Jacob Bancks.
Riverside Symphony, $10,000
To support a performance project at El Museo del Barrio.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, $20,000
To support a performance and community engagement project titled The Birthplace of Equality: A Communitywide Music Celebration of Susan B. Anthony and the 19th Amendment.
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, $40,000
To support the Women Composers Project.
San Diego Symphony, $20,000
To support a co-commissioning and performance project of a new trumpet concerto by saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and NEA Jazz Master Paquito D’Rivera.
San Francisco Symphony, $75,000
To support staff salaries and artist fees for an artist-in-residence program.
San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, $10,000
To support the Artist Development Program of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Santa Rosa Symphony, $15,000
To support commissioning and artist fees for a new work by Mexican composer Enrico Chapela Barba premiering at Green Music Center at Sonoma State University.
Seattle Symphony, $45,000
To support a performance project featuring new orchestral and chamber works, as well as a composition workshop for young composers.
The Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, $20,000
To support a performance project with the Spartanburg Philharmonic featuring Bela Fleck and Abigail Washington.
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, $40,000
To support the performance of Maurice Ravel: A Musical Journey, a symphonic play by playwright and stage director Didi Balle.
Symphony Tacoma, $10,000
To support an artist residency project with composer David Ludwig.
Related Art Works, Part 1 Grants
Boston University (on behalf of Tanglewood Institute), $20,000
To support the Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artists Orchestra and Young Artists Wind Ensemble.
Bravo! Vail, $10,000
To support artist fees for Bravo! Vail, an annual music festival. The summer festival will include orchestral concerts by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Dallas Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as chamber music performances.
Carnegie Hall, $85,000
To support artist fees for concerts in celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Programming may include performances of two complete symphony cycles, the complete piano sonatas and string quartets, as well as other chamber music, recitals, choral works, and lectures.
Central Music Academy, $10,000
To support a free music education program for youth.
Chautauqua Institution, $15,000
To support Women’s Suffrage Centennial: Claiming a Voice, Claiming a Vote, a week-long opera festival featuring productions of The Mother of Us All by composer Virgil Thomson and librettist Gertrude Stein, Tosca by composer Giacomo Puccini, and Thumbprint by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Susan Yankowitz.
Cleveland Institute of Music, $10,000
To support a new music festival celebrating the school’s 100th anniversary. The festival will include past and present institute-related composers’ works in orchestra concerts, faculty recitals, new music ensemble concerts, alumni performances, and seminars and workshops for students and the general public.
Gateways Music Festival, $15,000
To support staff salaries for the Gateways Music Festival. Celebrating the participation and contributions of classically trained musicians of African descent, the festival will feature solo and chamber music performances.
The Gilmore, $20,000
To support the Gilmore Keyboard Festival.
Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival, $25,000
To support the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP). Navajo, Hopi, and Salt River Reservation students will study one-on-one with a Native American composer-in-residence, learning orchestration and creating original compositions to be recorded and performed by a professional string quartet.
Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, $10,000
To support the Shouse Institute, a professional training program for chamber ensembles. The ensembles selected to participate in the institute will include one Sphinx Apprentice Ensemble selected in tandem with the Sphinx Organization.
Harlem Center for Strings, $15,000
To support the after-school music education program of the Harlem Center for Strings.
Harmony Project, $45,000
To support artist fees for free music instruction for students in underserved communities.
Heifetz International Music Institute, $25,000
To support performance and communication training for emerging musicians.
Ingenuity, $100,000
To support staff salaries and professional learning activities related to a collective impact project for the continued implementation and coordination of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Arts Education Plan.
Johns Hopkins University, $10,000
To support Tuned In, a free instrumental music education program for youth. Music faculty will help prepare students for acceptance into college music programs, and possibly a professional career in music.
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, $20,000
To support the Future Stages Festival. The festival will include performances by local youth-oriented arts organizations, as well as performances by resident companies including the Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera, and the Kansas City Symphony.
Lakes Area Music Festival, $10,000
To support the Lakes Area Music Festival. Plans include chamber music, orchestra, and opera performances.
League of American Orchestras, $90,000
To support the League of American Orchestras’ strategic services to orchestras.
Levine Music, $15,000
To support First Music, a free music instruction program for young children.
The New School, $15,000
To support the New School Concerts’ New York String Seminar, a pre-professional training program. professional training program. The seminar will be directed by violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo and will culminate in concerts at Carnegie Hall.
Oregon Bach Festival, $25,000
To support performance costs associated with the presentation of a new work by composer Paola Prestini. Oregon Bach Festival will feature the premiere performance of Hindsight for piano and orchestra, with pianist Lara Downes.
Pacific Chorale, $15,000
To support a performance project of concert programs featuring works by women composers. In addition, the chorus will present a concert program with the Pacific Symphony juxtaposing Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Caroline Shaw’s Music in Common Time, re-orchestrated for full choir and orchestra, at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.
Perlman Music Program, $30,000
To support the Summer Music School, a residential summer music program.
Project STEP, $45,000
To support an intensive string music training program for youth. Students will receive weekly, year-round instruction, participating in chamber music ensembles and orchestras.
Savannah Music Festival, $40,000
To support artist fees for the annual Savannah Music Festival. Artists including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with NEA Jazz Master Wynton Marsalis, and a number of ensembles and soloists will perform during the early spring festival in Savannah’s Historic District.
Stern Grove Festival Association, $10,000
To support artist fees for the Stern Grove Festival. The festival will feature a free outdoor performance by the San Francisco Symphony.
University Musical Society, $30,000
To support artist fees for a multidisciplinary performing arts series. Artists including Chineke! Orchestra, Dorrance Dance, and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, as well as jazz musician Tarek Yamani and theater artist Geoff Sobelle, will perform.
Washington Performing Arts, $40,000
To support SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras. During the three week-long festival, Washington Performing Arts will host several orchestras in residence in the nation’s capital: the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Marin Alsop, conductor (Maryland); the Jacksonville Symphony with Courtney Lewis, conductor (Florida); the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra with Aram Demirjian, conductor (Tennessee); and, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the conductor-less ensemble from New York.
Young Concert Artists, $15,000
To support Young Concert Artists Series. The project will include a professional artistic development program of recitals and concerto debuts in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
