Leaders of arts organizations in Connecticut “are hopeful that the NEA, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be spared in the next fiscal year’s budget,” writes Ed Stannard in Saturday’s (3/25) New Haven Register. “But they also fear that artists without a large constituency, those who push the envelope in their work and audiences whose tickets are subsidized by federal money would be hurt the most…. Elaine Carroll, chief executive officer of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, [said] last year, 30,000 students attended performances for free…. Concerts for children are performed at the Davis Street Arts and Academics School in New Haven and Shelton Intermediate School. Held at one time at the Omni New Haven Hotel, attendance more than tripled to 350 once the concerts were moved to the Davis Street school. ‘That one grant from the NEA helped build the community relations and the understanding on our part of the responsiveness,’ Carroll said…. The NHSO has performed nine world premieres in eight seasons…. The NEA allows the orchestra to support work by young composers, such as Hannah Lash.… ‘I think it makes a difference,’ Carroll said.”
Posted March 29, 2017
Pictured: Cellist Philip Boulanger with young string players at Music Haven, a free music education program for students from underserved New Haven neighborhoods. Photo by Catherine Avalone/New Haven Register
