The Richmond Symphony to Participate in MUSIC ALIVE: NEW PARTNERSHIPS

Twelve orchestras and composers have been selected to receive Music Alive: New Partnerships grants of $7,500 each, the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA announced today. Matching composers and orchestras who have not previously worked together, the program will support a series of one-week residencies between 2014 and 2016, each culminating in the performance of an orchestral work from the composer's catalog. Orchestras with operating budgets of approximately $7 million and below were eligible to apply.

"These new Music Alive residencies provide communities across the country with invaluable opportunities to hear the music of our time while connecting in-person with these talented composers," said League President and CEO Jesse Rosen. "Supporting orchestras in their commitment to perform the works of living American composers has always been an institutional priority for the League, with programs such as Ford Made in America and the ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming historically playing an important role at the organization."

"Through the generosity of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and our other funders, we are delighted to be continuing our support of collaborations between composers and orchestras," commented Ed Harsh, President and CEO of New Music USA. "Through Music Alive and in many other ways, New Music USA supports the dynamic, sustained relationships between individual creative artists and orchestras that are essential to a healthy musical ecology."

The composer/orchestra partnerships are:

Clarice Assad and Boston Landmarks Orchestra Douglas Cuomo and Grant Park Music Festival (Chicago) Annie Gosfield and Chautauqua Symphony (NY)
Takuma Itoh and Tucson Symphony Orchestra

Jingjing Luo and Princeton Symphony Orchestra (NJ)
Missy Mazzoli and Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
Rick Robinson and River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (Houston)
Carl Schimmel and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (New Orleans) Laura Schwendinger and Richmond Symphony Orchestra (VA) Derrick Spiva and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Sumi Tonooka and South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (Sioux Falls) Dan Visconti and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (Little Rock) Composer bios can be found here.

Forty-four orchestras and 219 composers applied for the program and two artistic panels selected the twelve grantees. Each residency will include a performance of a work by the composer, as well as individually tailored events, enabling the composers to reach new audiences, interact with youth, and take part in community-centered activities.

Now in its 14th year, Music Alive supports composer residencies in the concert halls and communities of orchestras throughout the country by providing funding, administrative support, and resources for both short and multi-year orchestra-composer collaborations. In addition to the new Music Alive: New Partnerships program, Music Alive also currently supports a three-year residency program for five composers and orchestras, most recently announced in 2013. Since 1999, there have been 127 Music Alive orchestral residencies; that number includes 78 individual orchestras and 110 individual composers (several orchestras and composers have participated multiple times). Music Alive programs help orchestras increase new music opportunities for audiences, artists, and administrators; identify model practices for sustained partnerships between artists and communities; help orchestras fully and comprehensively achieve their missions; and enrich orchestral repertoire with fresh and inventive music of our time.

More information on Music Alive is available here.

Funding for Music Alive is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts, and The Amphion Foundation.

The League of American Orchestras leads, supports, and champions America's orchestras and the vitality of the music they perform. Its diverse membership of approximately 800 orchestras across North America runs the gamut from world- renowned symphonies to community groups, from summer festivals to student and youth ensembles. The only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, the League is a nexus of knowledge and innovation, advocacy, and leadership advancement for managers, musicians, volunteers, and boards. Its conferences and events, award-winning Symphony magazine, website, and other publications inform music lovers around the world about orchestral activity and developments. Founded in 1942 and chartered by Congress in 1962, the League links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists, conductors, managers and administrators, board members, volunteers, and business partners. Visit americanorchestras.org.

New Music USA is devoted to fostering the creation, dissemination, and enjoyment of new American music. New Music USA places special emphasis on broadening the public community for the music and musicians whom we serve. Advocacy in the broadest sense is at the heart of all of New Music USA's work. It is inherent in the work of the online magazine NewMusicBox and radio station Counterstream, in all of New Music USA's grantmaking activity-which distributes more than one million dollars each year to the field-and in New Music USA's role as a key voice in the national and international scenes. Newmusicusa.org

Photo Courtesy of New Music USA

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