2014 Grantees
The Musical Fund Society granted $46,900 to 16 organizations for projects in the 2013–14 season.
| Bowerbird | Support for “In the Dark”, a concert that will feature the JACK quartet performing Georg Friedrich Haas’ (b. 1953) String Quartet No. 3, “In iij Noct,” and a new electro-acoustic composition by Philadelphia based composer Bhob Rainey – both of which will be performed in complete darkness and using spatialization of sound. | $2,400 |
| The Crossing | Financial support for an ongoing series of recordings, the newest one being a collaboration with celebrated British composer Gavin Bryars. The project will produce a substantial, forty-minute work written for PRISM, Philadelphia’s renowned saxophone quartet and The Crossing, winner of the 2011 ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming and Chorus America’s 2012 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal. | $3,200 |
| Cultural Works Philadelphia | In support of a summer showcase and rehearsal/ recording session that will combine three different acts in one concert giving the audience an opportunity to discover artists and music they may not encounter on their own. Featured artists will be Laughing Bird, a vocal quartet; Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis, a contemporary harpist and Adam Vidiksis, a composer, conductor and percussionist. | $2,600 |
| The Curtis Institute | In support of the commissioning of a new work by alumna Katerina Kramarchuk, to be performed by the Curtis 20/21 contemporary music ensemble in several performances occurring in 2014 and beyond. | $3,700 |
| Delaware County Symphony | In support of a concert featuring the performance of Philadelphia composer, Kile Smith’s Four French Carols and recently-appointed Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Bassist Joseph Conyer’s in Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf’s double bass concerto. | $900 |
| Dolce Suono Ensemble | In support of the expansion of “Música en tus Manos” (Music in Your Hands) an exciting outreach initiative in Philadelphia’s Latino community, during the 2013-2014 season. Highlights of the program include performances, conversations, open mics for members of the community to perform informally and instrument petting zoos. The culminating workshop of the outreach program will feature renowned Cuban-American composer Tania León. | $3,600 |
| Lyric Fest | In support of two performances of a special concert for children and families: Spiders, Witches and Goblins…Oh My! This Halloween themed program will largely be drawn from “Character” pieces – songs in which the singer represents a character and would appear in costume. The program will feature predominantly classical works but will also include songs from Broadway shows, operettas and film classics. | $3,300 |
| Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia | In support of BIG SING // Julia Wolfe, a two-year project including a Wolfe commission, ancillary events, audience engagement and performances. The 45-minute commission draws its inspiration from folk music and legend: melody/text origins, unique musical characteristics, and examination of practice. These songs/stories construct the foundation for a new classical form performed by a symphonic-size chorus and the Bang On a Can All-Stars. | $2,500 |
| Network for New Music | In support of “Harbison Project: Philadelphia Connections” A series of events that will occur in April 2014 that will include coaching sessions/performance of student quartets, a college-level composer reading/recording session and competition, an eight-week composition workshop for middle school students and five Philadelphia composer commissions and related activities. | $3,200 |
| Orchestra 2001 | In support of “New Music Celebrations of the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” a program featuring the world premiere of a new clarinet concerto based on the Civil Rights Movement and episodes from the Life of Dr. King, written by Richard Danielpour, Curtis Institute faculty composer. The soloists for the this new concerto will be Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinetist with the Metropolitan Opera, and a graduate of the Curtis institute. | $2,900 |
| Philadelphia Orchestra Association | To support one of the orchestra’s Student Side-By-Side Rehearsals during the 2013-2014 season and for the Philadelphia Orchestra musicians to participate in the School District of Philadelphia’s All-City Orchestra. Through these Open and Side-By-Side Rehearsals the orchestra works closely with talented young musicians to foster their love of music and develop their musical knowledge and skills. | $3,300 |
| The Philadelphia Singers | In support of the first-ever recording of Randall Thompson’s Requiem, a masterwork of this celebrated choral composer often overlooked due to the difficult and technical nature of the score. The recording will ensure that the piece becomes accessible to the public for the first time in history. | $3,100 |
| Piffaro, The Renaissance Band | In support of “Holly & Ivy: A Midwinter Feast of Fools” to be presented in early January 2014 for Twelfth Night. This fully staged and costumed production is modeled in part on early Tudor entertainments that were staged during the Christmas season both at court and in well-to-do households. | $3,200 |
| PRISM Quartet / New Sounds Music Inc. | In support of the recording project, “The Curtis Project.” A recording that will feature music for saxophones by Philadelphia composers and Curtis Institute faculty members David Ludwig and Jennifer Higdon, as well as five extraordinary student artists from Curtis’ composition department. | $2,900 |
| Tempeste di Mare | In support of the U.S. premiere of Williams Boyce’s “See Famed Apollo” (1739), an ode to Cecilia, patron saint of music. The performance will feature vocalists Laura Heimes, Drew Minter, Aaron Sheehan and David Newman in collaboration with the Westminster Choir College’s chamber choir Kantorie under the direction of Andrew Megill. | $3,100 |
| Temple University Music Preparatory Division | Funding for the implementation of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program into the Music Prep curriculum in the 2013-14 season. This American adaptation of the Canadian Royal Conservatory Examinations Certificate program provides for a national standard for people studying music privately. The programs assessments allow students to track their progress while also providing measureable objectives for parents and teachers to better understand a student’s musical growth. | $3,000 |