FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Nick Dobreff, Manager of Publicity and Community Relations
616.485.3913 (m) – 303.308.2477 (o)
ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org
COLORADO SYMPHONY TO RECEIVE $15,000 GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
Grant will support Youth Concerts and Colorado Symphony education initiatives for the 2021/22 Season
May 12, 2021 – Denver, CO – The Colorado Symphony has been approved for a $15,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support Lift Every Voice (LEV) youth concerts. This project will support four extensions of the LEV youth concerts through the 2021/22 Season including a residency by composer Omar Thomas, mentorship opportunities for schools from collaborative artists and CSA musicians, a Summer Teacher Fellowship, and a culminating Be Bold Youth Exhibition featuring student submissions in the Denver Performing Arts Complex at a dedicated family concert. This project is among the more than 1,100 projects across America totaling nearly $27 million that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding.
“As the country and the arts sector begin to imagine returning to a post-pandemic world, the National Endowment for the Arts is proud to announce funding that will help arts organizations such as Colorado Symphony to reengage fully with partners and audiences,” said NEA Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Although the arts have sustained many during the pandemic, the chance to gather with one another and share arts experiences is its own necessity and pleasure.”
“We are thrilled to have been awarded an NEA grant to inspire students across Colorado to find their voice through our Lift Every Voice Youth Concert and Be Bold Experiences, said Jesse Martinez, Director of Community Education. “More than ever, students need music, the arts, and human connection. We are proud to provide a concert experience that represents our DEI values where students can hear world-class symphonic music, celebrate our common human spirit through the arts, and receive a message of unity, empowerment, and creativity.”
In light of the impact of COVID-19 and the socio-political discourse in our country, the Lift Every Voice youth concerts and extensions are important and timely educational and community building initiatives that feature diverse composers and artist collaborators while sparking creative self-expression through the arts in K-12 classrooms across Colorado.
For more information on the projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
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CONTACTS:
For more information or to request interviews, please contact:
Nick Dobreff, Manager of Publicity and Community Relations
ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org - 303.308.2477 (o)
For high-resolution, downloadable images of the Colorado Symphony, contact: ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org
TICKETS:
Tickets to Colorado Symphony events are available online at coloradosymphony.org/tickets or by phone at 303.623.7876. The Box Office is open for phone inquiries only, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
ABOUT THE COLORADO SYMPHONY
The Colorado Symphony Association is the region’s only full-time professional orchestra committed to artistic excellence and ensuring the future of live, symphonic music. Performing over 150 concerts annually at Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver and across Colorado, your Colorado Symphony is home to eighty full-time musicians, representing more than a dozen nations, and regularly welcomes the most celebrated artists from all genres of music. During the COVID-19 health pandemic, we worked to safely produce over 50 concerts with and without audiences, including: 18 Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre performances, two large scale virtual community benefit concerts, and dozens of small ensemble concerts performed in numerous outdoor venues like the Denver Performing Arts Complex Galleria, Denver Zoo, and Denver Botanic Gardens. Our virtual #PlayOn campaigns garnered 2 million views between our Virtual Music Hour, Weekly Replay, From Home Concerts, and MusiCurious Instrument Interviews. Recognized as an incubator of innovation, creativity, and excellence, your Colorado Symphony continually expands its through education, outreach, and programming. We partner with the state’s leading musical artists, cultural organizations, corporations, foundations, sports teams, and individuals to expose diverse audiences to the power of symphonic orchestral music. To learn more, visit coloradosymphony.org.