Press release
The Presser Foundation will award $1,445,500 in grants to 148 music organizations throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area. This year, the number of applications and organizational diversity significantly increased. The Foundation received 142 proposals, a notable increase from 121 the previous year. Thirty-four new organizations applied for funding. Small organizations seeking support also rose considerably, with 52 organizations operating with budgets under $100,000.
This year's grantees demonstrate strong commitments to several key areas. Community engagement emerged as a vital focus, with music presenting, music performing and music educating organizations forming local partnerships, presenting programs in non-traditional venues, developing multilingual programming and marketing, and offering free concerts and events. Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives were also prominent, with organizations actively working to diversify their boards, staff, and audiences. Many organizations focused on programming and commissioning works by people of color and women, while expanding financial assistance and improving venue accessibility. Educational outreach and youth programs remained a cornerstone, with organizations offering free or reduced-cost music lessons, establishing partnerships with local schools, and creating mentorship and internship opportunities for young musicians.
William B. McLaughlin, III, Chair of the Advancement of Music Committee, commented, “Music is an essential component of what makes cities shine. We are pleased to provide unprecedented support to various music organizations that deliver a wide range of services to communities in Greater Philadelphia. High quality performances, an emphasis on educational outreach and community engagement, and a strong commitment to equity and inclusivity mark this year’s grantee recipients. They demonstrate how and why music is necessary in creating a vibrant community.”
Advancement of Music Grants: (in alphabetical order)
- Academy of Vocal Arts
- Allentown Symphony Association
- Ambler Station Singers*
- Anna Crusis Feminist Choir, Inc.
- Arcana New Music Ensemble*
- Ars Nova Workshop
- Artistas y Musicos Latino Americanos (AMLA)
- ArtSmart
- Bay Atlantic Symphony, Inc.
- Berks Opera Company*
- Berks Sinfonietta
- Berks Youth Chorus
- Beyond the Bars
- Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra
- Boheme Opera Company*
- Bowerbird
- Bucks County Choral Society
- Bucks County Symphony Society
- Cantus Novus*
- Capital Harmony Works
- Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey
- Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz
- Chamber Music Lehigh Valley
- Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
- Chesco Pops
- Chester Children's Chorus
- Choir School of Delaware
- Choral Arts Philadelphia
- Christina Cultural Arts Center
- Community Music School Lehigh Valley
- Community Music School of Collegeville
- Community Youth Orchestra of Bucks County
- Concord Chamber Singers
- Concordia Chamber Players
- Crescendo Phoenixville
- Darlington Arts Center
- Delaware Choral Arts Association
- Delaware County Symphony
- Delaware County Youth Orchestra
- Delaware Symphony Orchestra
- Delaware Valley Lyric Opera Guild
- Dolce Suono Ensemble
- EMEAPP (Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project)*
- Esperanza
- FamFrequency Productions*
- Filament
- Friends of the Wanamaker Organ
- Generation Music*
- Glassbrook Vocal Ensemble*
- Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra*
- Greater South Jersey Chorus
- Harrisburg Symphony Association
- Jazz Bridge Project*
- Journey Arts
- Keep Music Alive*
- Kennett Symphony of Chester County
- Lancaster International Piano Festival
- Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
- Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra
- Lebanon County Choral Society*
- Lehigh Valley Chorale*
- Lehigh Valley Community Broadcasters Association*
- LiveConnections DBA World Cafe Live
- Lyra Society
- Lyric Fest
- Main Line Symphony Orchestra
- Mamadele Foundation
- Market Square Concerts
- Market Street Music
- Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia
- Mennonite Children's Choir of Lancaster
- Montgomery County Chorale & Orchestra
- Montgomery County Concert Band*
- Music at Bunker Hill
- Music at Gretna
- Music for Everyone
- Musicopia
- Nashirah: The Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia
- Network for New Music
- Opera Delaware
- Opera Philadelphia
- Orchestra 2001
- Orchestra Concordia Association*
- Penn Live Arts
- Pennsylvania Philharmonic
- Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra
- Pennsylvania Symphonic Winds
- Philadelphia Boys and Girls Choirs
- Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
- Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society*
- Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts
- Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus
- Philadelphia Heritage Chorale, Inc.
- Philadelphia Sinfonia Association
- Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute
- PhilHarmonia*
- Philomusica Chorale
- Piffaro, The Renaissance Band
- Play On, Philly! (POP)
- Princeton Symphony Orchestra
- PRISM Quartet
- Project 440
- Reading Musical Foundation
- Reading Symphony Orchestra
- Riverside Symphonia
- Rock to the Future
- Settlement Music School
- Sharim v’Sharot*
- Singing City
- Singing Hearts Choir Inc.
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra
- Sruti
- State Street Academy of Music*
- State Theatre New Jersey
- Susquehanna Chorale
- Symphony in C
- Tempesta di Mare
- Temple University Music Preparatory Division
- The Allentown Band
- The Bach Choir of Bethlehem
- The Brandywine Valley Chorale
- The Camareta Singers*
- The Crossing
- The Dryden Ensemble*
- The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy*
- The Friends of Chamber Music Reading, Inc.
- The Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School of Music
- The Jazz Sanctuary
- The Lotus Project of Trenton*
- The Mann Center for Performing Arts
- The Music School of Delaware
- The Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble*
- The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc.
- The Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey
- The Young People's Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley
- Tri-County Concerts Association, Inc.
- Variant 6
- Voices Chorale NJ
- West Jersey Music Academy*
- Westrick Music Academy
- Wheatland Chorale*
- Wilmington Children's Chorus
- Wilmington Concert Opera
- WRTI90.1FM
- WXPN*
- Young Women Composers dba Wildflower Composers
- Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey
- Zoellner Arts Center
*Denotes a new Advancement of Music grantee.
About The Presser Foundation
The Presser Foundation was established in 1939 under the Deeds of Trust and Will of the late music publisher Theodore Presser. It is one of the few private foundations in the United States dedicated solely to music education and music philanthropy. The Presser Foundation supports music organizations working in a broad range of traditions, genres, and styles through general operating and program grants to music organizations; capital grants for music building projects; undergraduate and graduate student awards; and assistance to retired music teachers. Much of the grant making focus of the Foundation is on organizations and institutions in the 75-mile radius surrounding Center City Philadelphia. For more information: www.presserfoundation.org.