More Than $82 Million Awarded for Arts Projects Nationwide Includes $10,000 Awarded to Brevard Music Center

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects and partnerships 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 Brevard Music Center (BMC) to support the 2017 production of the opera, Street Scene, a featured part of BMC's 2017 Kurt Weill Festival. The NEA received 1,728 Art Works applications and will make 1,029 grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.

"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 Brevard Music Center, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences."

"We are very proud to receive the NEA's endorsement and support of this distinct educational opportunity for our students," said BMC President and CEO Mark Weinstein. "The NEA's contribution not only allows Brevard Music Center to mount a fully-staged production of Street Scene but also to engage our students and audiences in a celebration of the incredible talent and diverse creative accomplishments of Kurt Weill."

The Music Center's production of Kurt Weill's Tony Award-winning Broadway hit will serve as the centerpiece of a "Festival Within a Festival" celebrating the diverse legacy of Kurt Weill. Weill predicted his 1947 Broadway opera would be remembered 75 years after his death as his greatest work.

Directed by Dean Anthony and conducted by Robert Moody-both BMC alumni-Street Scene will be presented by BMC's Janiec Opera Company on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 PM, and again on Saturday, July 29 at 2:00 PM, at the Porter Center on the campus of Brevard College.

The NEA's Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.

Enjoy performances as captivating as the view. This is Brevard. Be inspired. Be here. Led by Artistic Director and alumnus Keith Lockhart, also Principal Conductor of the Boston Pops and BBC Concert Orchestra, Brevard Music Center stands as one of the country's premier summer training programs and music festivals. Over ten weeks and among 40,000 attendees, the next generation of musicians gather in the captivating Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to perform great musical works alongside distinguished faculty and many of the most celebrated names in music.

For more information on BMC, visit brevardmusic.org, call (828) 862-2100, "like" the Brevard Music Center on Facebook, follow @brevardmusic on Twitter, stream season highlights via SoundCloud, and visit the Brevard Music Center YouTube channel for performance videos from previous festival seasons.

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