Foundation for Bluegrass Music Awards $20,000 in Grants
The Foundation for Bluegrass Music is pleased to announce a distribution of $20,000 in funds to charitable public programs for 2011. The programs include youth focused educational efforts, a film project and celebrations of the 100th anniversary of birth of the “father of bluegrass music.” The funds have been made available to recipients from diverse areas of the country, including Washington, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and California.
The International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee received funds to support programs celebrating the 100th birthday of Bill Monroe in 2011. Grants were also awarded to Acoustic Sound’s Wintergrass Youth Academy, the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, The Gaston School of Arts and Young Audiences of San Diego.
Acoustic Sound’s Wintergrass Youth Academy, based Bellevue, Washington, is an annual program focused on educating youth on playing, appreciating and preserving bluegrass and Americana music, in addition to promoting the incorporation of these alternative music styles into the K-12 school music curriculum. The event is designed to bridge the gap between classical and oral music traditions through ear training, improvisation, the study of traditional songs and styles, exposure to both classical and traditional bluegrass instruments, and the transfer of skills from the classical orchestra to folk ensembles and back. For more info on this innovative program, go to http://www.acousticsound.org/youth.html.
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation has produced Fanning the Fire, a documentary short film in high-definition video, which they plan to screen at film festivals and offer to schools, libraries, music educators and other partners like the Foundation for Bluegrass Music and the International Bluegrass Music Museum. The film shows how a Texas teen went from being a fan of bluegrass all the way to taking the stage to open for some of the greatest entertainers in the business—in less than three years. Along the way, viewers will see why people of all ages and backgrounds get “hooked” on playing bluegrass music this music and enjoying the community at bluegrass festivals around the country, and around the world. Info: http://bluegrassheritage.org
During the weeks surrounding Bill Monroe’s 100th birthday, Sept. 13, 2011, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will honor Monroe and recognize his contributions to American music through a series of programs for youth and young adult audiences. Some programs will be staged at the museum; others will be offered in cooperation with institutional partners like Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and Metro Nashville Public Schools. The project will include a free public concert, a commemorative Hatch Show Print, educational programs for teachers and students, free film screenings, a mandolin master class or summit, and an exhibit featuring items from the museum collection.
The Gaston School of Arts has initiated “The Bluegrass Project: An Introduction to Bluegrass Music,” a program designed to introduce bluegrass music to young people. A combination of workshops, master classes and hands-on interaction over a two-day period will culminate in a performance opportunity for the participants. The arts school provides quality, affordable instruction in music, visual arts and drama for children and adults in Gaston County, North Carolina and the surrounding area. The program will take place in early fall, 2011. Info: www.gastonschoolofthearts.org
The International Bluegrass Music Museum is already in full swing celebration of the Bill Monroe Centennial with two exhibits opened June, 2011 at the museum in Owensboro, Ky. The celebration will culminate in a three-day event at IBMM September 12-14, 2011. In addition to hosting reunions of pioneers of bluegrass recognized in the museum’s video oral history documentary film series and members of Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, many members of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame will perform with their bands and a third centennial exhibit will be unveiled. The museum will also premier a new IBMM-produced documentary on the life of Bill Monroe as told by the Blue Grass Boys and a musical about Monroe’s early life presented by 400 local students under the tutelage of the museum’s Bluegrass in the Schools instructors. Info:www.bluegrassmuseum.org
Young Audiences of San Diego Young Audiences of San Diego broadens the reach of its Bluegrass in the Schools program by subsidizing performance fees for the presentation of “Bluegrass 101,” by the band, Grassology. Grassology, a three-piece band with regionally and nationally recognized players, has performed in the San Diego County schools since the mid-1990s. Their presentation utilized humor and original compositions to present information about bluegrass music, history and culture. With this grant, Young Audiences will be able to reach 3,045 more children, youth and adults with bluegrass than they did during the 2009-2010 school year.
The Foundation Board also understands that the grants made to these institutions and programs represents a small portion of resources needed to accomplish their mission and encourages others to get involved as well. These six programs were among more than two dozen applicants in a competitive grant application process.
Created in 2007, the Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as an “umbrella” to which charitable donations can be made and disbursed to support educational, literary, artistic and historic preservation activities of public benefit.
For more info about the Foundation for Bluegrass Music, go to www.bluegrassfoundation.org.
The next grant application deadline is expected to be August 15, 2011.
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The Foundation for Bluegrass Music is a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable entity
founded to support educational, literary and artistic activities of public benefit.
The Foundation for Bluegrass Music, Inc.
2 Music Circle South - Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37203 | 615-256-3222 | info@bluegrassfoundation.org
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