National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects and partnerships in the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $10,000 to Brevard Music Center to support the 2016 production of a new opera, Falling Angel.
Brevard Music Center (BMC) in Brevard, North Carolina, in a recently launched collaborative partnership with the Center for Contemporary Opera (CCO) in New York City, will produce a main stage production in summer 2016 of Falling Angel, a new work by composer J. Mark Scearce and librettist Lucy Thurber. BMC and CCO have established a partnership to support the training and education of young opera singers and to promote the growth of the repertoire of opera in America. This joint project combines the complementary strengths of BMC, one of the leading training institutes for talented college-age musicians and singers in the country, and CCO, a leading proponent of new opera in the United States.
Directed by Dean Anthony, the world premiere of Falling Angel - a dramatic opera noir based on the thrilling, classic mystery novel by William Hjorstberg - will be presented by BMC's Janiec Opera Company on Thursday, June 30, and again on Saturday, July 2, at the Porter Center at Brevard College.
"We are very proud to receive the NEA's endorsement and support of this distinct educational opportunity for our students," said BMC President and CEO Mark Weinstein. "The NEA's contribution not only allows Brevard Music Center to mount a fully-staged, world premiere of Falling Angel, but also provides a platform for our students to be showcased to representatives of opera companies from around the country. It could lead to the launch of a career!"
The NEA's Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.
"The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Supporting projects like the one from Brevard Music Center offer more opportunities to engage in the arts every day."
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov.About Brevard Music Center | Summer Festival and Institute Performances as captivating as the view. This is Brevard. Be inspired. Be here.
Founded 80 years ago, the Brevard Music Center has matured into one of this country's premier summer classical music training programs and festivals. More than 400 gifted students, ages 14 through post-college, come to the Music Center each year from all across the US and around the world to study with a distinguished faculty and renowned guest artists. Each summer, students participate in a vigorous program of instruction and performance led by Artistic Director and alumnus Keith Lockhart, also Principal Conductor of the Boston Pops and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London.
Brevard's hallmark is the powerful sense of community that re-emerges every June through August as faculty and students present more than 80 remarkable concerts to summer audiences totaling over 31,000. For more information on BMC, visit brevardmusic.org, call (828) 862-2100, "like" the Brevard Music Center on Facebook, follow @brevardmusic on Twitter, and visit the Brevard Music Center YouTube channel for performance videos from previous festival seasons.
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