In Friday’s (4/4) Classic 107 (Winnipeg, Canada), Chris Wolf writes, “The American Musicological Society (AMS) is confronting a significant financial challenge following the abrupt termination of all four of its active grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), effective April 1, 2025. These grants, totaling over $363,000, were essential for AMS programs such as ‘Many Musics of America,’ ‘Music of the United States of America (MUSA),’ ‘Musics of the United States: Telling Our Stories,’ and ‘Music Means: A Digital Platform for Exploring Music and Meaning in America.’ This development coincides with broader governmental restructuring efforts led by Elon Musk, who has been serving as a special government employee heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) … and has involved sweeping cuts across various federal agencies, including significant reductions in grants and staff within the NEH…. The termination of AMS’s grants has sparked concern among cultural and educational organizations…. AMS Executive Director Siovahn Walker has called for collective action to oppose the funding cuts and seek alternative funding sources. She emphasizes the societal importance of AMS’s programs in preserving and promoting America’s musical heritage…. The society has approximately 3,000 individual members spread across fifteen regional chapters in the United States, Canada, and other locations.”
