Early Music America offers awards of up to $1,500 annually to support outreach projects for children and/or adults by organizations, ensembles, and individual artists. The awards are intended to promote awareness and appreciation of early music and historical performance with the goal drawing new audiences and participants.
Engagement includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Early-music activities that focus on children, in or out of school.
- Early-music activities in public and private schools.
- Lifelong learning courses on early music.
- Web, video, podcast, or other creative activities that advance public awareness and enjoyment of early music.
- Early-music activities that reach underserved audiences and populations and historically underfunded racial or ethnic identity groups, especially African-American, Asian-American, Latinx, and Indigenous communities.
Eligibility, Required Materials, and Application Instructions available below.
The application period is March to mid-April each year.
Funded projects may take place beginning July of the award year through June of the following year.
2023 Recipients
Early Music Associates, Inc., Bloomington, IN
Bloomington Early Music Immersion (BEMI) will provide a first experience in early-music performance for middle-school children from the wider Bloomington community. With focus on music of the 17th and 18th centuries, this weeklong day-camp-style program offers rehearsals, coaching, and workshops in a fun, supportive, and creative environment.
KC Baroque Consortium, Kansas City, MO
Expanding on past educational outreach projects, KC Baroque is designing a workshop intensive for high school string students that will provide a hands-on experience working on instruments with gut strings and baroque bows. The workshop will provide an opportunity for students to explore historical performance practice through the preparation of a baroque work for performance in a side-by-side concert with members of KC Baroque.
Les Délices, Cleveland, OH
This project centers on a new live-performance version of SalonEra, Les Délices award-winning early music-focused web series variety show designed as a salon experience for the 21st century. Two SalonEra Sessions will be presented in our 2023-24 season, featuring a 50:50 mix of performance and conversation performed before a live audience. The sessions will be recorded for later release as part of our free SalonEra season of six episodes available in both video and podcast formats, and four bonus audio-only episodes.
Musicians of the Old Post Road, Boston, MA
”Developing Audiences with Music from Spain and New Spain,” is a collaboration between Musicians of the Old Post Road and guest artists from the Mexican period instrument group Ensemble La Fontegara, with the aim to develop awareness and appreciation of Baroque music of North, Central, and South American composers to audiences across Massachusetts and in Mexico.
Seattle Historical Arts for Kids, Seattle, WA
This project is the trial-and-feedback phase in the development of a new Renaissance and Baroque recorder method by Miyo Aoki, tentatively titled Recorder from the Ground Up, to later be published by Seattle Historical Arts for Kids (SHAK). This unique teaching method combines kid-optimized by-ear learning tools of the Suzuki method with time-tested musical early-music hits.
Past Engagement Award Recipients (2011-present)
2022
Kasia Bielak-Hoops
Jonathon Hampton
Vikram Joshi
Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble
Sonido Barroco San Antonio
2020-21
No Awards Given
2019
The Brandenburg Project
Burning River Baroque
Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble
Arkansas Baroque Music, Inc.
2018
Les Délices
Forgotten Clefs
Savannah Baroque
S’Cool Sounds
2017
Ars Musica Chicago
Bach Around the Clock
Early Music Associates
Seattle Historical Arts for Kids
Singen und Sagen
2016
Blue Hill Bach
Carol Lewis
Catacoustic Consort
Polyhymnia
Special Music School
2015
Belladonna
Early Music in Motion
Julie Elhard
Les Canards Chantants
Pegasus Rising
2014
Filigree Baroque
Lycoming Baroque Choir and Orchestra (formerly Billtown Baroque)
Salish Sea Players
Three Notch’d Road
World of Harpsichord
2013
The Connecticut Early Music Society
Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble
2012
Ars Lyrica Houston
Echoing Air
Jessica Powell and the Capitol Consort of Viols
MYSO (Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra) Baroque Players
The Rose Ensemble
2011
Catacoustic Consort
Jessica Powell and the Capitol Consort of Viols
Lisa Terry
Seattle Historical Arts for Kids
College-Level Development Grant (2011-2017)
From 2011 to 2017 Early Music America offered grants annually to college or university Early Music Ensembles to support a specific project or event that will enrich or broaden the educational experience of the students, and/or help to elevate the profile of such ensembles on campus, in their community or nationally.
2017
Reed College Collegium Musicum
2016
Case-Western Reserve University Baroque Chamber and Dance Ensembles
Texas Tech University Early Music Ensemble
2015
University of Oregon Collegium Musicum
2014
CWRU Baroque Music and Dance Ensembles
Cornell Baroque Orchestra
2013
Rutgers Mason Gross School for the Arts
Western Michigan University Collegium Musicum
2012
Metropolitan State College of Denver Early Music Ensemble
St. Olaf Early Music Singers and Collegium Musicum
2011
The University of Texas at Austin Early Music Ensemble