Chesapeake Music is pleased to announce it has been recommended by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a $10,000 Challenge America grant award in support of its 2024 children’s outreach programming.
“We are thrilled and grateful to have received this funding from NEA for our youth programming this year,” says Barry Koh, Chesapeake Music’s board president. “Programs like ours that reach out to children in engaging ways are essential for creating tomorrow’s musicians and arts audiences.”
With this support, Chesapeake Music’s Don and Meridith Buxton YouthReach Program will continue its history of building community connections and increasing appreciation of classical music. The 2024 programming includes two Talbot County Public School (TCPS) residencies of the Kaleidoscope Quartet – a New York-based foursome of young, professional performers and music educators. Later this month and again in the fall, and working with TCPS music teachers, the quartet members will curate and present dynamic, interactive programs that spark students’ imaginations. These in-school performances and elementary school classroom experiences for students will also culminate in a community concert later in the year.
“We could not be more excited to be working with Chesapeake Music to bring these unique opportunities to our students this year,” says Alison Strickland, Curriculum Supervisor with Talbot County Public Schools. “Last year’s school visits by Kaleidoscope were terrific and one of the highlights of our music classes.”
“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to Chesapeake Music, which is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.” In total, the NEA will award 257 Challenge America awards totaling $2,570,000 that were announced as part of its first round of fiscal year 2024 grants.
For more information about Chesapeake Music’s youth outreach, visit ChesapeakeMusic.org. To learn more about other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
