Sarasota Orchestra Receives $10,000 Grant from National Endowment for the Arts

The Sarasota Orchestra received a ­­­­­$10,000 grant from National Endowment for the Arts. The grant offers funding to area arts organizations in support of their artistic mission. The grant funds supported the 53rd Sarasota Music Festival (SMF or Festival). This three-week residency program brings together 60 exceptional young musicians and 40 renowned faculty artists for a series of coaching sessions, lectures, rehearsals and performances in Sarasota.

"The National Endowment for the Arts grant is an endorsement of our mission and the transformative impact that our programs have on our community," said Sarasota Orchestra CEO Joseph McKenna. "The Sarasota Orchestra is grateful to the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts and their commitment to the mission of the Sarasota Orchestra to engage, educate, and enrich our community through high-quality, live musical experiences."

In past Festivals, SMF has had great success in highlighting our alumni who recently embarked on professional careers, including Noah Bendix-Balgley, concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic; Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concertmaster David Coucheron and New York Philharmonic concertmaster Frank Huang. Sarasota Music Festival's plan to continue to spotlight various alumni, as their artistic excellence serves to inspire the students who are attending, as well as peak the curiosity of the audience as they listen to the current class.

The 2017 Festival continued to have a strong commitment to collaborations with the community through yearly outreach performances to retirement homes, clubs and churches to inspire and entertain an additional 2,500 area residents.

It is SMF's mission to teach students not only how to refine their playing, but also the importance of reaching out to the community and having relevance to the audience. The Festival students have opportunities to participate in an outreach concert that they design themselves for local students from area camps and summer school programs. This concept continues to be refined as the SMF participants learned to plan their own program, create a script, embellish the performance with commentary and execute a riveting and insightful program.

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 $10,000 to Sarasota Orchestra for the Sarasota Music Festival. The NEA received 1,728 Art Works applications and will make 1,029 grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. For more information, visit www.arts.gov.

For over 65 years, the Sarasota Orchestra has been entertaining music lovers from around the region, and visitors from around the world. The 80-member Orchestra performs more than 100 classical, pops and family concerts each year, and thrives as the oldest continuing orchestra in the state of Florida. For more information about the Sarasota Orchestra please visit www.SarasotaOrchestra.org. Come as you are. Leave different.

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