NEA Awards Orpheus Chamber Orchestra $40,000 Art Works Grant

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects across the country in the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $40,000 to Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to launch a 2018 nationwide tour, further their education and community initiatives, and introduce the new Orpheus Music Academy training program. The NEA received 1,728 Art Works applications and will make 1,029 grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.

"We are thrilled and honored to be awarded this funding," said Orpheus Executive Director Alexander Scheirle. "We are grateful to the NEA for their longstanding recognition of the orchestra's artistry, and look very much forward to sharing the joy of music-making with communities across America."

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's 2018 Touring Project will engage audiences across the country in the orchestra's distinctive conductorless music-making. Partnering with such world-class guest soloists as André Watts, Truls Mørk, Tine Thing Helseth, and Lisa Batiashvili, Orpheus will perform seminal masterpieces and newly-commissioned works in 22 dynamic concerts in 16 cities. Orpheus musicians will further engage many of these communities through its education initiatives, Access Orpheus and Orpheus Institute, which teach collaborative leadership using the orchestra's signature method. In June 2018, Orpheus will also introduce the new Orpheus Music Academy training program, providing intensive training for pre-professional musicians from across the country. Through these projects, Orpheus will inspire and empower Americans nationwide with the orchestra's vibrant and uniquely democratic artistry.

"The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America's artists and arts organizations," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as Orpheus, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences."

About Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

A standard-bearer of innovation and artistic excellence, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is one of the world's foremost chamber orchestras. It was founded in 1972 by a group of like-minded young musicians determined to combine the intimacy and warmth of a chamber ensemble with the richness of an orchestra. With 71 albums, including the Grammy Award-winning Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures, and 45 commissioned and premiered original works, Orpheus rotates musical leadership roles and strives to perform diverse repertoire through collaboration and open dialogue. Performing without a conductor, Orpheus presents an annual series at Carnegie Hall and tours extensively to major national and international venues. www.orpheusnyc.org.

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