06/18/2020
Geneva Music Festival Awarded $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Geneva Music Festival (GMF) has been awarded an Art Works grant of $10,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Art Works is the NEA Arts Endowment’s principal grantmaking program. This year’s award will support the 2020 Season’s performances and activities.
“From the onset of the pandemic we have seen how significant music is in people’s lives. It has served to connect and comfort in ways little else could during social distancing. This makes this recognition by the National Endowment for the Arts that much more meaningful to us,” says Geoffrey Herd, GMF director. “Support such as this helps make world-class music accessible to audiences in beautiful venues of the Finger Lakes as well as in their own living rooms.”
After having to postpone the live celebration of its tenth season due to COVID-19-related shutdowns, the Geneva Music Festival developed a robust, online program to allow audiences to interact with world-class musicians and music. The first event took place June 5 and programming continues through June 26. Through digital technology, GMF patrons and global audiences are enjoying performances by cellist Clive Greensmith, violinist Jinjoo Cho, and the Latin jazz band La Voz de Tres. Audiences can interact directly with two Pulitzer Prize-winning composers, Jennifer Higdon and Shulamit Ran, and discuss the music of Florence Price with one of her 21st-century champions, pianist Michelle Cann. Violinist Ani Kavafian will share stories of her long and varied career as one of America’s most prominent chamber musicians. After their premieres, all events are available on the Festival’s YouTube channel. A complete schedule of events and instructions for accessing each is available on the festival’s website, www.genevamusicfestival.com.
Additionally, GMF’s mission of community engagement continues through an online masterclass with the students from St. Peters Community Arts Academy as well as a series of video lectures for Geneva City School District students and staff, the Boys and Girls Club, Geneva YMCA and other groups.
Founded in 2011 with the mission of entertaining, inspiring and nurturing a lifelong love of music in the community, the festival annually presents artists whose work will appeal to audiences of a variety of ages and musical tastes. The festival has conducted community outreach through free performances in local schools and community centers since its inception.
“These awards demonstrate the resilience of the arts in America, showcasing not only the creativity of their arts projects but the organizations’ agility in the face of a national health crisis,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “We celebrate organizations like the Geneva Music Festival for providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times.”
This year, including its gift to the Geneva Music Festival, the NEA has approved 1015 grants in this category nationwide. GMF previously received Art Works grants in 2017 and 2019.
For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
