NEA American Masterpieces: Chamber Music, FY2009

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American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the National Endowment for the Arts will sponsor performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational programs across all art forms that will reach large and small communities in all 50 states. This component of American Masterpieces will celebrate the extraordinary and rich evolution of chamber music in the United States. Through performances and related educational activities, American chamber music of the highest quality will be experienced by Americans in communities across the nation. Grants are available for chamber music performances in conjunction with educational activities that will highlight specific repertoire by American composers and enable ensembles to engage with communities in a variety of settings. The Arts Endowment is particularly interested in projects that have at least one performance and two educational activities. The Arts Endowment plans to support a range of projects that reflect the breadth of chamber music. For the purposes of this initiative, chamber music generally is defined as one player to a part, performed without a conductor, with between two and ten players; duos must perform as an ensemble of equal partners. Chamber music encompasses music for traditional ensembles such as string quartets and trios, as well as compositions for mixed ensembles, traditional and indigenous instruments, and jazz. Projects may include recordings and broadcasts. Commissions and premiere performances are not eligible. Projects must be accompanied by related educational, interpretive, or contextual components. These may include discussions, master classes, seminars, exhibitions, program material, or cooperative learning projects with educational or community institutions. Curriculum-based educational components for children and youth must ensure the application of national or state arts education standards. Projects may be initiated by eligible organizations of all sizes, genres, and aesthetics such as: Ensembles. Presenters. Festivals. Colleges and universities.

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