Vermont Symphony Orchestra gets $15,000 NEA grant to support the Made in Vermont Musical Festival

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that the Vermont Symphony Orchestra is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Vermont Symphony Orchestra is recommended for a $15,000 grant to support the Made in Vermont Music Festival. The music festival is a statewide orchestral tour reaching out to small venues and small state college campuses throughout Vermont. The tour also premieres a new composition commissioned by the VSO and written by a Vermont composer. Grant one of 817 NEA Art Works grants totalled $26.3 million in funding nationwide.
Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse art projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to the vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts.
Alan Jordan, Executive Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra states the support from the NEA is critical to the success of the Made in Vermont Musical Festival statewide tour.
In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more that $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is a state-supported non-profit institution founded in 1935 and exists for the purpose of fostering and encouraging the appreciation of music in all its various forms, with emphasis on orchestral, choral and chamber music.