The League of American Orchestras has selected 22 orchestras to receive the first round of Getty Education and Community Investment Grants, which support a variety of innovative educational and community partnership programs in 2012-13. The 2012-13 grants are part of a three-year, $1.5 million re-granting program from the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, which will fund new and established innovative programs. The first-year grants, totaling $425,000, support eleven orchestras’ in-school and afterschool programs: the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, California Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Omaha Symphony Association, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory, and the Sphinx Virtuosi. Nine orchestras have received grants for health-and-wellness programs: the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony. The Brooklyn Philharmonic received a grant supporting its neighborhood residencies program in under-served communities in Brooklyn; and the Central Ohio Symphony received a grant for a criminal-justice program utilizing drumming circles to address needs of adolescents with substance-use disorders and mental illness. A prerequisite for qualifying orchestras was the existence of partnerships with local cultural or community organizations, such as schools or social-service providers. The 22 orchestras receiving grants were chosen from 204 applicants and judged by an independent advisory panel on six criteria: degree of innovation and relevance to community needs; the orchestra’s capacity to deliver; appropriateness to mission and community; appropriateness and strength of partnerships; ability to assess outcomes; and professional development for musicians and staff. More information on the grant recipients is available here.
Posted November 27, 2012
