Sarasota Orchestra To Receive Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts

Sarasota Orchestra has announced it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000. This grant will support the presentation of the 2024 Sarasota Music Festival. In total, the NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

“Projects like the Sarasota Music Festival exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”

Celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year, the three-week Festival runs from June 2 – 22 and features a schedule of 13 different concerts, as well as a wide range of masterclasses, coaching sessions, and rehearsals. The internationally renowned program brings 60 fellows and 40 esteemed faculty artists from top conservatories and music schools to Sarasota to study and perform.

“The arts are needed now more than ever in our world, and this award will help us continue to share world-class music with our community,” said Sarasota Orchestra President and CEO Joseph McKenna. “The tremendous support from the National Endowment for the Arts ensures a bright future for the Sarasota Music Festival and we are grateful for our continued partnership with the NEA.”

About Sarasota Music Festival:

For three weeks each June, internationally recognized faculty artists and pre-professional musicians come together in Florida to study and perform chamber music. Led by Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, the Sarasota Music Festival is a magical combination of youthful promise and acclaimed talent. Exceptional fellows from top music programs work side-by-side with internationally recognized faculty artists, including flutist Jasmine Choi, violinist Tessa Lark, and the Borromeo String Quartet. This year's theme, “Music Unbound,” celebrates the once popular classical training technique of improvisation and reintroduces it in a dynamic and transformative way. Fittingly, as SMF celebrates its 60th anniversary, the theme of “Music Unbound” is a nod to the practices of the past, while simultaneously innovating on previous techniques to fuel the future.

Additional information about the Sarasota Music Festival is available at https://www.sarasotaorchestra.org/festival. Patrons may reach the Box Office at (941) 953-3434.

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