Philadelphia Music Project Awards Grants to 20 Local Music Organizations

Music lovers throughout the Philadelphia region will soon enjoy some of the area's most ambitious and artistically significant programming to date, as the Philadelphia Music Project announces its 2005 grant recipients. The awards to 20 local music organizations range from $12,140 to the Doylestown School of Music and the Arts to $160,000 to the Philadelphia Orchestra, for a total of $960,395, the most ever awarded in a single year. They will result in 167 concerts and residency programs, encompassing traditional and contemporary forms of classical, jazz, and world/folk music. The Philadelphia Music Project, an artistic initiative funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts, has underwritten 197 projects with support exceeding $8.3 million since its inception in 1989.

"In the coming season, the Philadelphia Music Project will support award recipients in world premiere performances of 32 compositions, including new works by Pulitzer Prize winning composers William Bolcom, John Harbison, and George Crumb; jazz luminaries David Liebman and Stanley Cowell; and several of Philadelphia's most prominent composers, including Jennifer Higdon and Gerald Levinson," said Matthew Levy, director of the Philadelphia Music Project. "Funded projects also highlight Asian and Latin composition, offering works by Chen Yi and Bright Sheng, Oscar Hernandez and Carlos Franzetti. Performances of these works will enhance Philadelphia's already-rich heritage of supporting contemporary musical expression."

The 2005 Philadelphia Music Project grant recipients are:

• Academy of Vocal Arts: $60,000
• Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts: $160,000
• Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia: $30,000
• Doylestown School of Music and the Arts: $12,140
• International House Philadelphia: $26,750
• Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts: $40,000
• Latin Fiesta: $30,000
• Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia: $30,000
• Montgomery County Community College: $30,000
• Opera Company of Philadelphia: $80,000
• Orchestra 2001: $30,000
• Philadelphia Chamber Music Society: $50,000
• Philadelphia Classical Symphony: $60,000
• Philadelphia Museum of Art: $25,000
• Philadelphia Orchestra: $160,000
• Philomel: $30,000
• Piffaro, The Renaissance Band: $30,000
• Sedgwick Cultural Center: $16,505
• Sruti, The India Music and Dance Society: $20,000
• Strings for Schools: $40,000

Project summaries for each grant are available at www.pewtrusts.org. The Doylestown School of Music and the Arts, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and Latin Fiesta are first-time recipients of Philadelphia Music Project grants.

“These awards challenge grantees to ‘think big' and mount especially ambitious or innovative programs that will be of the highest caliber,” said Marian Godfrey, director of Civic Life Initiatives at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

By the Numbers

This year's grants will result in:

• 167 events, including the world premiere performances of 32 new works, 16 of which will be commissioned with support from PMP, U. S. premieres of 4 works, and regional premieres of 39 works;
• 106 public concerts encompassing 26 chamber music, 40 orchestral music, 3 choral music, 63 new music, 13 world/folk music, 13 jazz, 17 early music, and 10 opera performances;
• 61 residency and educational activities;
• 605 local artists and 426 guest artists supported, including 42 guest ensembles;
• 104,000 live audience members in the five-county region;
• 402,000 regional radio audience members through broadcasts on Philadelphia's WRTI and WHYY; and
• National exposure through broadcasts on National Public Radio.

Panelists

Philadelphia Music Project grants are awarded on a competitive basis and are selected by a panel of internationally recognized artists, scholars, and administrators with a broad knowledge of the field. A distinguished eight-member panel reviewed this year's applications :

• Evans Mirageas (panel chair), independent artistic advisor, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, former Senior Vice President of A & R for Decca Records;

• Jason Moran, pianist, composer and Blue Note recording artist;

• Elisabeth Wright, harpsichordist, Professor of Music, Indiana University;

• Robert Garfias, ethnomusicologist, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine;

• Martin Bresnick, Professor of Composition, Yale University;

• Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director and Founder, VocalEssence;

• Limor Tomer, Independent Curator, Symphony Space, BAM Café, Whitney Museum; and

• Carmen Balthrop, soprano, Metropolitan Opera, Associate Professor of Music, University of Maryland.

The Philadelphia Music Project is one of eight regional cultural initiatives at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Others include the Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program and Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, Dance Advance, the Heritage Philadelphia Program, and the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative. Known collectively as the Philadelphia Program, each encourages continued creative growth and excellence within the local arts community. The Pew Charitable Trusts serves the public interest by providing information, policy solutions and support for civic life.

The University of the Arts is the nation's first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing, and communication arts. Its 2,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. Its history as a leader in educating creative individuals spans more than 125 years.