Chicago Sinfonietta Receives $15,000 Grant From National Endowment for the Arts

Chicago Sinfonietta has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $15,000 in support of the culminating concert of the Sinfonietta’s first tour to Atlanta, Georgia, under Music Director Mei-Ann Chen, titled, “Sinfonietta Homecoming: A Celebration of Historically Black Colleges & Universities.” 

Renowned for its innovative approach to symphonic music performances and educational programming, for being a leader in the field in the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and a champion of BIPOC and women composers, Chicago Sinfonietta’s “Sinfonietta Homecoming” concert will highlight the work of talented Black composers from today and yesteryear, including works by Scott Joplin, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Michael R. Dudley Jr., and Jessie Montgomery. An expansion of the Sinfonietta’s work in its home base of Chicago and the surrounding area, the tour, which takes place this March 4 and 5, 2024 at Atlanta’s historic Spelman College campus, will also include education programs. 

Further, Chicago Sinfonietta is pleased for Cedille Records, which was also awarded a NEA Grant for the Arts for the Sinfonietta’s forthcoming album, a collaboration with Flutronix to be recorded during the 2024-25 season, and is set for release in 2025.

“Embracing innovation and excellence in music, Chicago Sinfonietta stands as a vibrant tapestry reflecting the interconnectedness among our 77 neighborhoods in Chicago and resonates across the entire country through arts and culture,” said Chicago Sinfonietta President and Chief Executive Officer Blake-Anthony Johnson. “This grant fortifies our ability to extend our artistic reach and foster a meaningful relationship with the broader CS community through our 'Sinfonietta Homecoming' concerts, spotlighting the rich contributions of Black composers & Historically Black Colleges & Universities to our field & country.

“Additionally, we are delighted that Cedille Records has received support from the NEA for our eleventh album with the label, Black Being, a work co-composed and performed with Flutronix that explores themes of strength, sacrifice, beauty, fear, and survival, offering a musical lens into the diaspora and complexities of Black womanhood.”

“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to Chicago Sinfonietta, which is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.” 

Black Being, a contemporary work in four “chapters” co-composed and performed by acclaimed duo Flutronix (Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull), received its orchestral premiere under the Sinfonietta’s Maestra Chen with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in April 2022. Fanfare Magazine has described the work as a “thrumming electroacoustic soundscape and an epic, evocative text by North Carolina poet laureate Jaki Shelton Green.” The piece is an expansion of Flutronix’s original duo version, premiered at The Arts Club of Chicago in fall of 2021.

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