University of Michigan

UMS Selected as One of Three University Performing Arts Presenters Awarded a Grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

January 6, 2010

 

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded grants totaling $1.9 million to a consortium of three university‐based, multi‐disciplinary performing arts presenting organizations. The grants were awarded to sustain and advance their ambitious commitment to classical music in the face of intense economic challenge. The three organizations, each of which will receive a grant for $600,000 to support their respective classical music presenting and commissioning programs between January 2010 and June 2013, are Cal Performances at the University of California at Berkeley, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign, and the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan. The Foundation awarded an additional $100,000 to the consortium to support collaborative activities, including commissioning.

With these grants, the Mellon Foundation recognizes the convergence of economic stressors currently at play, which have presented unprecedented challenges to the three organizations with their commitment to preserving classical music offerings as a defining attribute of their respective programs. With their collective leadership in the field, the consortium members seek to set the stage of an increased embrace of classical music as an art form of enduring and deep cultural relevance. The Mellon Foundation grant not only provides a substantive and direct assistance to each of the three consortium institutions for which classical music lies at the heart of their multidisciplinary presenting, but also helps elevate the national dialogue surrounding classical music more broadly.

Housed within three of the country's leading public research universities, these three organizations have long and distinguished histories in the presentation of classical music. For decades they have presented the world’s major classical artists and ensembles while also championing emerging artists of promise. They have been leaders in the development of partnerships with academic and community colleagues to increase awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of — and cultural participation in — the art form of classical music. They have been leaders in the commissioning of new music and other art forms [e.g., dance] associated with and inspired by classical music. Their collective leadership is multi‐dimensional and deeply rooted in each organization’s mission.

During the three‐and‐a‐half‐year framework of the grant, each institution will develop and implement strategies for securing new funds to extend the impact of the Foundation's investment beyond the third year. In addition, the consortium will work with the Foundation to convene a summit on the future of classical music presenting in higher education. A select group of leaders across a broad spectrum of campus types — public and private, from the small liberal arts campus to the large research university — will be invited to share information and perspectives on the current state of the field and to collectively imagine possible pathways forward.

The leader of each presenting organization commented on the significance of the grant

Matías Tarnopolsky, Director of Cal Performances

“Cal Performances is thrilled with this remarkable gift from the Mellon Foundation. This support helps sustain and advance the ambitious artistic plans we are envisioning over the coming seasons and enables the further creation of new work to bring to our stages. In keeping with our three key values — artistic excellence, advocacy, accessibility — the Mellon Foundation’s gift will help Cal Performances present top quality classical music, and will help us better reach our audiences in Berkeley, the wider Bay Area, and beyond. We are grateful to the Mellon Foundation for this significant vote of confidence in Cal Performances’ work, and in that of our colleague organizations at Illinois and Michigan, and for this gesture which underscores the importance of the performing arts in our society.”

Mike Ross, Director of the Krannert Center

“I am deeply grateful to the Mellon Foundation for this extraordinary support which will enable Krannert Center for the Performing Arts — alongside its distinguished counterpart institutions at the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor and the University of California/Berkeley — to extend its ambitious commitment to excellence in classical music programming and related educational engagement efforts at a moment of protracted financial challenge. I am also thankful for the support this grant represents in its commitment to living composers and in elevating the national dialogue surrounding classical music in contemporary society.”

Ken Fischer, President of University Musical Society

“UMS is thrilled to receive this grant from the Mellon Foundation and the recognition of our long and deep commitment to classical music presentation that it represents. We are also thrilled to be in a consortium with our colleagues at Illinois and Berkeley whose work we have long respected. We all feel that we have an unprecedented opportunity through this grant, especially at this time of economic challenge, to strengthen our respective classical music programs, to deepen the connection between our artists and our university and community audiences, to find new ways to work together, and to share our experiences with the field.”

Information about each presenting organization

Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley

Cal Performances, now in its 104th season, is the performing arts presenter and commissioner at the University of California, Berkeley. Hailed as “the most adventurous high‐quality performing arts organization in the country” by The Wall Street Journal (December 2008), Cal Performances presents world, American and West Coast premieres each season, utilizing five venues, including Zellerbach Hall and Zellerbach Playhouse, Hertz Hall and the venerable Greek Theater, where Cal Performances' programmatic origins date back to 1906 when Sarah Bernhardt performed for earthquake refugees. Cal Performances’ mission to inspire, nurture and sustain a lifelong appreciation for the performing arts is furthered by over 200 performances and educational and community programs each year which bring more than 200,000 individuals to Cal Performances’ presentations. The world's leading vocalists, orchestras, recitalists and chamber musicians, ballet and modern dance companies, and theater and world stage artists perform in Berkeley, including the Mark Morris Dance Group, Yo‐Yo Ma, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Robert Lepage, Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Pina Bausch, Gilberto Gil, Merce Cunningham, Jordi Savall, Laurie Anderson, Cesaria Evora and John Adams. Internationally celebrated companies include the Grand Kabuki Theater of Japan, the Berliner Ensemble, the Gate Theater of Dublin, American Ballet Theatre, Beijing Peoples’ Art Theater, Les Arts Florissants, and the Kirov and Bolshoi ballet companies and orchestras, among many others. Additionally, Cal Performances collaborates with a variety of University scholars such as in the recent North American premiere of Alessandro Striggio's 60‐voice Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno, discovered and performed by musicologist Davitt Moroney. Cal Performances’ FY10 budget is approximately $11 million.

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois opened in 1969. Unprecedented in its visionary scope, Krannert Center remains today widely recognized as the nation’s premiere universitybased performing arts complex as well as the benchmark model for the integration of performing arts education and professional presenting. The Center’s commitment to supporting the work of University faculty and students in music, dance, and theatre is unparalleled; its presenting activity has expanded robustly in recent years to reflect the rich diversity of cultural expression, domestically and globally; it has established a strong and expanding network of collaborative/interdisciplinary relationships across campus in the humanities, sciences, engineering/technology and other domains, as well as with the visual and design/build arts disciplines; its support of established and emerging artists in the creation of new work has accelerated dramatically; it is valued highly by the community and broader region; and its relationship with University leadership is unusually strong. Reflecting the University mission of education, research, and public engagement, Krannert Center is increasingly viewed as a high‐potency blending of classroom, laboratory, and public square. Krannert Center is a comprehensive performing arts complex with four indoor theatres, club‐style lobby stage, amphitheatre, and a full array of production shops. In addition to hosting more than 100 student and faculty performances each year, the Center presents 60‐70 visiting artist performances and 100 related public engagement activities. Its FY10 budget is approximately $10 million.

University Musical Society of the University of Michigan

Now in its 131st season, University Musical Society (UMS) is a multi‐disciplinary presenting organization that presents the full spectrum of the performing arts of music, dance, and theater, offering 60‐75 performances and over 100 free educational activities each season. UMS has been a champion of Western classical music since its founding in 1879, offering an annual series of classical orchestras and soloists every year since then and a chamber music series for the past 47 years. UMS also has an historic commitment to presenting early music and vocal chamber music, staged and concert opera, vocal recitals and art song, and new music. UMS has had a special relationship with symphonic orchestras, both domestic and international, including significant partnerships with orchestras of Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Leipzig, Vienna, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. UMS also has its own 150‐ voice town‐gown chorus, the 131‐year‐old Grammy‐Award‐winning Choral Union. UMS has cocommissioned over 50 new works since 1990. UMS has won numerous awards for its community engagement efforts, building relationships with numerous communities of shared heritage in the area to serve a broader segment of the regional population, including the Asian American, Mexican/Latino, African/African American, Arab American, Russian, and Jewish communities of southeastern Michigan. Because of its unique position as affiliated but independent from its host university, the University of Michigan, UMS has great freedom with the curatorial process; at the same time, UMS works in partnership with over 50 academic units and 175 faculty members to animate and contextualize the work on stage. UMS presents in seven university and community venues. Its FY10 budget is $6.5 million.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation currently makes grants in five core program areas: Higher Education and Scholarship; Scholarly Communications; Museums and Art Conservation; Performing Arts; and Conservation and the Environment. Within each of its core programs, the Foundation concentrates most of its grantmaking in a few areas. Institutions and programs receiving support are often leaders in fields of Foundation activity, but they may also be promising newcomers, or in a position to demonstrate new ways of overcoming obstacles to achieve program goals. The grantmaking philosophy is to build, strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities. As such, The Mellon Foundation develops thoughtful, long‐term collaborations with grant recipients and invests sufficient funds for an extended period to accomplish the purpose at hand and achieve meaningful results. The Foundation’s Performing Arts Program provides multi‐year grants on an invitation‐only basis to a small number of leading orchestras, theater companies, opera companies, modern dance companies, and presenters based in the United States. The Foundation seeks to support institutions that contribute to the development and preservation of their art form, provide creative leadership in solving problems or addressing issues unique to the field, and which present the highest level of institutional performance. Grants are awarded on the basis of artistic merit and leadership in the field, and concentrate on achieving long‐term results. Special consideration is also given to programs supporting generative artists—US composers, playwrights, choreographers, and artist‐led theatrical ensembles.

Press Contacts:
Cal Performances at University of California, Berkeley
Christina Kellogg, Director of Public Relations and New Media
(510) 643‐6714 / ckellogg@calperfs.berkeley.edu

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign
Bridget Lee‐Calfas, Public Information Director
(217) 333‐6282 / bklee@illinois.edu

University Musical Society of the University of Michigan
Sara Billmann, Director of Marketing and Communications
(734) 763‐0611 / sarabill@umich.edu