Music Grants & Scholarships
Musicians come from all walks of life, from a variety of different ethnic and financial situations. Musical talent needn't go unnoticed; for this reason, various schools and organizations have made the effort to provide assistance via grants and scholarships to individuals and groups whom they believe will make a lasting impact on the music community, but might not have the funds to do so.
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The ASCAP Foundation
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The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a performing rights organization that licenses and collects royalties for songwriters and artists all over the world. They offer a number of scholarships and grants for those interested in popular music, classical music and everything in between. The Leiber and Stoller Scholarship developed by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, writers of early rock & roll hits like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock," awards grants to young songwriters, musicians and vocalists. The Louis Armstrong Scholarship at the University of New Orleans awards jazz musicians with little money funds to study music in a formal environment. Grants awarded through ASCAP include the Cy Coleman Award for a songwriter who would benefit from taking music business, and the ManUp4Kids Program, awarded to low-income families to help them attend music and cultural events in their community.
National Endowment for the Arts
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The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the federal government established by Congress in 1965. According to the NEA website, it is "the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities and military bases." The NEA awards grants to innovative projects that span a variety of genres that will help attract new audiences to music. The American Masterpieces: Chamber Music grant is awarded to chamber music projects that highlight American chamber music composers and also educate the community. The NEA awards projects that engage children and help them gain a better understanding of the arts with Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth grants. Among the multitude of grants awarded by the NEA in 2009 were $15,000 to the La Jolla Music Society to support their SummerFest and $7,500 to the Powder Rise Symphony in Gillette, Wyoming to support the Starry Skies outreach program.
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The GRAMMY Foundation
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The GRAMMY Foundation was established by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1989 "to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture." The GRAMMY Foundation funds Scientific Research Projects and Archiving and Presentation Projects. Scientific Research Projects are those that research music's impact on the human condition, such as the effects of music on mood. Archiving and Presentation Projects supports projects that attempt to archive and preserve the musical heritage of America.
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