American Lyric Theater Receives NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that American Lyric Theater (ALT) is one of 886 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. ALT is recommended for a $35,000 grant to support the Composer Librettist Development Program - the only full time professional mentorship initiative for emerging operatic writers in the country.

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The NEA is pleased to announce that American Lyric Theater is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

This award marks the fifth consecutive grant that ALT has received from the NEA for the Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). ALT's flagship initiative, the CLDP provides unprecedented professional instruction and guidance to gifted emerging operatic writers. This past season, ALT expanded the program nationally through the use of newly acquired HD teleconferencing technology. The CLDP faculty includes some of the country's foremost artists, including composer/librettist Mark Adamo, composer Paul Moravec, librettists Mark Campbell and Michael Korie, and dramaturg Cori Ellison. Recent guest teachers and lecturers have included composers Kaija Saariaho, Nico Muhly, Stewart Wallace, Christopher Theofanidis, Ricky Ian Gordon, John Musto, and Anthony Davis, and librettists Donna DiNovelli, Stephen Karam, and Gene Scheer.

Lawrence Edelson, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of ALT commented on the grant, stating, "We are deeply honored by the ongoing support we continue to receive from the NEA. Since we launched the CLDP in 2007, the program has become a model of innovation for companies around the country, inspiring many opera companies to increase their investment in the development of operatic writers. Thanks to the support of the NEA and our other funders, over the past seven years, we have been able to provide personalized, intensive mentorship to 38 composers and librettists."

"This season alone," Edelson continued, "many CLDP alumni are premiering new works at opera companies around the country: last month, two operas developed through the CLDP - Buried Alive by Jeff Myers and Quincy Long, and Embedded by Patrick Soluri and Deborah Brevoort received their world premieres at Fargo-Moorhead Opera in a co-production with ALT, and Fort Worth Opera; in June, CLDP alumnus Royce Vavrek premieres his new opera 27 with Ricky Ian Gordon at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; and just this week, alumnus Christopher Cerrone was a finalist for The Pulitzer Prize in Music for his opera Invisible Cities, which had a critically acclaimed run at The Industry in Los Angeles in the fall. I am thrilled that the artists who have participated in our program are contributing important new works to the 21st century operatic repertoire - and we are equally thrilled that the NEA continues to play such a vital role in making that possible."

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 enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 are recommended for grants for a total of $25.8 million.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

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