NEC Alumni Win Grow Your Art Grants During Maria Schneider Residency
Grow Your Art grants totaling $13,500 have been awarded to NEC alumni Emily Eng, Darynn Dean, Rafael Natan, and Linda Numagami, and will support a microgrant program for Black, Latinx, and Native American music students, a series of concerts and film screenings around women in jazz, an accessible School of Arts and Social Justice, and a clarinet festival.
The Entrepreneurial Musicianship team at NEC is proud to announce the winners of this year's Grow Your Art grants. These grants are available to current students and alumni within 10 years of graduation. Finalists pitch their proposals live to a panel of selectors, who ask questions and offer encouragement. This year's panel was comprised of this year's Grow Your Art residency guest Maria Schneider, President Andrea Kalyn, and Dean of Community Engagement and Professional Studies Tanya Maggi.
The residency will culminate in a digital concert featuring NEC students coached by Maria Schneider and performing her music, which will be aired on March 10
The Pitch Competition was streamed live via video, and can be viewed here
2021 Grow Your Art Grant Winners
Emily Eng | Lift Music Fund First Prize, $7500
Making achievement in music more accessible and equitable by awarding monthly microgrants to Black, Latinx, and Native American students.
Darynn Dean | The Resolution Tour Second Prize, $3000
A virtual series of 7 live concert and film screenings that explore the stories of women in jazz, gender, and justice.
Rafael Natan | School of Arts and Social Justice at Makeshift Boston Third Prize (tie) $1500
The School of Arts and Social Justice brings together artists and social movements, creating innovative and accessible education for all.
Linda Numagami & Benjamin Adler | Clarinet Maestro Festival Third Prize (tie) $1500
Featuring the teaching philosophies of Yehuda Gilad and making them accessible to all clarinetists.
We also applaud these finalists for their excellent work and vision:
2021 Grow Your Art Finalists:
Hunter McKay | Abacus Video Album
To produce and market a professional video album from our tour with a catalog of backstage and live promo content to grow our audience.
Ye Huang | City is our sound, online is our stage
Connecting Boston businesses and space owners with local musicians. Showcasing music in space around the city and presenting in online video form.
Thomas Cooper | Black Virtuosity
Fermata uncovers the extensive world of black virtuosity in classical music with composers Joseph Bologne and Florence Price.
Gabriela Martina | States
An album of new compositions written by Gabriela Martina, States of mind and the States we thought we knew.