Glacier Symphony receives $10,000 grant
Glacier Symphony, Orchestra and Chorale was recently awarded a $10,000 Challenge America grant from the National Endowment for the Arts titled Music for Rural Montana. The project will assist the Glacier Symphony in bringing educational chamber concerts to tribal lands of Northwest Montana and underserved rural communities. The goal is to provide enriching experiences in communities and education districts where involvement with the arts has been limited, and in many cases entirely absent. The Music for Rural Montana project is among 168 projects across America totaling $1,680,000 that were selected to receive fiscal year 2022 funding in the Challenge America grant category.
This project will extend the service area of the Glacier Symphony over 100 miles from its home base in Kalispell, into geographically isolated towns in rural sections of Northwest Montana. The chamber concerts will reach teachers and students who are struggling to recover from a year of isolation and limited personal interaction.
Chamber concert dates:
Monday, March 28: Ronan students in grades 3-5 and 9-12 in the Ronan Performing Arts Center
Friday, April 1: St. Ignatius students in grades 6-12 in the St. Ignatius gym. Ronan students in grades 6-8 in the Ronan Performing Arts Center
Monday, April 4: Eureka students in grades 5-12 in the Lincoln High School auditorium
Monday, May 9: Charlo students in grades K-12 in the Charlo gym
Polson students in grades 5-12 in the Polson High School auditorium
Polson students in grades pre-K-4 in the Linderman Elementary School gym
The performances will include symphony musicians presenting music by well-known composers such as Beethoven, Dvorak, Grieg, Mozart and Vivaldi. As a special feature, contemporary music by acclaimed Native American cedar flute legend and composer R. Carlos Nakai will be performed.
Glacier Symphony musicians performing include Griffin Browne, principal cellist, personnel manager and librarian: Jennifer Hawken, flute; Ali Schultz Levesque, Sara Schultz Levesque, Amy Haymond and Kyle Unruh, violin; Jeananne Solberg and Aimee Zupicich, Viola.
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“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from the GlacierSymphony that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEAActing Chair Ann Eilers. Glacier Symphony, Orchestra and Chorale in Kalispell is among the organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”
Music Director John Zoltek states “We have been honored to receive this generous grant from the NEA that will help us bring the experience of classical music into the hearts and minds of young people who normally do not have the opportunity to attend concerts by symphony musicians.”
“The GSC believes that positive experiences in the culture of music are essential and should be an integral part in the lives of young people,” stated Germaine Jarvis, Glacier Symphony NEA Challenge America Grant project manager in a press release.
For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
For more information regarding the Glacier Symphony, Orchestra and Chorale, visit glaciersymphony.org.