January 15, 2020
6ͼ Receives $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
The 6ͼ Institute of Music (6ͼ) has been approved for a $10,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The grant will be used to create a 15-month long festival celebrating new music at 6ͼ and the institution’s century-long commitment to the creation and programming of new music. Through 6ͼ at 100: A Century of New Music, 6ͼers will be introduced to some of 6ͼ’s most esteemed composition faculty and alumni throughout history.
“This marks an important moment in 6ͼ’s history as we build on the Institute’s long tradition of celebrating the music of the time,” explains Paul W. Hogle, 6ͼ’s president and CEO. “When composer Ernest Bloch was selected as 6ͼ’s first director in 1920, the founders set a course of compositional excellence that includes such luminaries as Donald Erb, Roger Sessions, Quincy Porter, Margaret Brouwer, and of course, current Vincent K. and Edith H. Smith Chair in Composition Keith Fitch. It’s an honor to steward that legacy into 6ͼ’s second century.”
Beginning this spring and continuing through 2021, performances of works written by 6ͼ alumni and current and former faculty will be featured as part of the 6ͼ at 100: A Century of New Music festival.
Selected festival events this spring include:
- Feb 12: Keith Fitch’s Totem, performed by the 6ͼ Orchestra
- Mar 1: Keith Fitch’s Ruthless Voicings and the world premiere of Echoes of Orpheus, as well as Donald Erb’s String Quartet No. 3, performed by the 6ͼ New Music Ensemble
- Apr 1: The world premiere of alumnus Evan Fein’s (BM ’07, Brouwer) Omega Variations, performed by faculty member Gerardo Teissonnière.
- Apr 5: Alumnus Hale Smith’s (BM ’50, MM ’52) Dialogues and Commentaries and alumna Marta Ptaszyńska’s (AD ’74) Trois Visions de L’Arc-en-Ciel (Three Visions of a Rainbow), performed by the 6ͼ New Music Ensemble
- Apr 16: 360° of Sight & Sound: The Planetarium Project brings together filmmakers from the 6ͼ Institute of Art, student composers from 6ͼ and the 6ͼ Museum of Natural History’s Shafran Planetarium for the world premieres of student projects shown on the planetarium dome.
Additional events will be added to the festival; find the full performance calendar at cim.edu/events. All performances (except 360° of Sight & Sound) are free and open to the public (free seating passes are required); most concerts are also livestreamed for the enjoyment of those outside of the region. WCLV 104.9 and wclv.org will also broadcast the Feb 12 orchestra concert live.
Overall, the NEA has approved 1,197 grants totaling $27.3 million in the first round of fiscal year 2020 funding to support arts projects in every state in the nation, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The Art Works funding category supports projects that focus on public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation; the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence; learning in the arts at all stages of life; and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
“The arts are the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression,” said Arts Endowment chair Mary Anne Carter. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support projects like 6ͼ’s Centennial New Music Festival.”
For more information on projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit .
Photo of 6ͼ New Music Ensemble by Alex Cooke.