Houston Symphony Receives NEA Grant

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced today an Art Works award of $20,000 to the Houston Symphony in support of the upcoming classical concert series, Three Weeks of Beethoven. The grant was one of many awarded to the nation's art organizations by the NEA, totaling more than $27.6 million in its first funding round for fiscal year 2016. In its first 50 years, the NEA has awarded more than $5 billion in grants to recipients in every state and U.S. jurisdiction, the only arts funder in the nation to do so.

The 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.

"The arts are part of our everyday lives - no matter who you are or where you live - they have the power to transform individuals, spark economic vibrancy in communities and transcend the boundaries across diverse sectors of society," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Supporting projects like this one from the Houston Symphony offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day."

"The Houston Symphony seeks to enhance people's lives in the communities where we live and work, and we do so by offering memorable cultural experiences to audiences of all ages and walks of life," said Mark C. Hanson, Executive Director/CEO. "We thank the National Endowment for the Arts for their support, as this grant will allow us to continue to explore some of the finest works of the classical repertoire under the leadership of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada."

The Houston Symphony's Three Weeks of Beethoven program, taking place during the first three weekends of March 2016, will explore the classical works of his symphonies No. 2, 3, 8 and 9. In addition to these classical masterpieces, the concert programs will feature a selection of other works, including Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Shostakovich's Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, and Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank's La Llorona for Viola and Orchestra.

Related educational activities will include programs for students, onstage dialogue about the music with the conductor and a composer or other musical collaborations and post-concert discussions. The programs are the second installment of a three-year exploration of the works of Beethoven under the leadership of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEAFall15. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov.

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