New York, NY—Chamber Music America (CMA), the national network for ensemble music professionals, has announced the distribution of $550,395 through three of six grant programs to support the work of 42 ensembles and presenters across the contemporary and traditional jazz, classical, and folkloric genres. 

The 2024 grantees, reflecting a broad spectrum of sounds and stages, were selected after an adjudication process by independent peer panels in December 2023. Individual awards, from $8,580 to $20,000, will be used to support projects in communities across 15 cities in 10 states.

“CMA’s first round of 2024 grantees encompass a wide range of performance styles, cultural traditions, and new musical innovations,” said CMA’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Kwan Loucks, “I am thrilled to see these new projects develop with CMA’s support.”

The grant programs— Artistic Projects, supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation; and Ensemble Forward, supported by the New York Community Trust, Presenters Consortium for Jazz supported by The Doris Duke Foundation; —and grantees, are outlined below. 

Kindred Spirits “A Navajo – South African Story” is an ambitious and unique Indigenous cross-cultural collaboration between two continents, North America and sub-Saharan Africa. The project was given its platform at the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) Festival in South Africa in 2022, when D’DAT travelled to Johannesburg to perform and participate in a cultural exchange with South African artists; the conceptualization and sharing of ideas began several months before in a series of interactive zooms between D’DAT and the South African producers Dan Chiorboli and John Lindemann.  

Twelve jazz artists and groups receive grants up to $15,000 from South Arts’ national initiative to tour their work across the United States.

Atlanta —February 20, 2023— Today, South Arts is pleased to announce the Winter 2023 Jazz Road Artists—12 artists and ensembles receiving funding from the Jazz Road Tours initiative to promote and tour their artistry around the nation.

Relaunched in 2022 by South Arts with funding from Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, Jazz Road Tours annually supports approximately 50 jazz artists with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to cover a portion of tour expenses and tighten the pay gap between artists and presenters. Some of these expenses include venue and travel fees, equitable pay for the artists, or costs of management, coordination, and promotion.