Six $75,000 Commissions for Composer Collaborations Awarded by the Gerbode and Hewlett Foundations

Six $75,000 Commissions for Composer Collaborations Awarded by the Gerbode and Hewlett Foundations

The grants will go towards the creation and world premiere of six new works by California composers, created in collaboration with another California artist of their choice.

Written By

NewMusicBox Staff

The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have announced six $75,000 grants for the creation and world premiere of six new works by California composers, created in collaboration with another California artist of their choice. All of the commissioned musical works will have their world premieres in Bay Area public performances between December 2011 and June 2013.

The recipients of the 2010 Composer Collaboration Awards are:

  • Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: Laura Karpman and independent producers/authors The Kitchen Sisters
  • Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums: Sarah Wilson and aerial dance company Catch Me Bird
  • Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF): Mark Izu and choreographer Kimi Okada
  • Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana de San Jose (MACLA): Guillermo Galindo and chamber ensemble Quinteto Latino
  • San Francisco Girls Chorus: Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz
  • Z Space Studio: Marcus Shelby and co-creator Margo Hall

The Gerbode and Hewlett foundations were assisted in making these grants by an advisory panel composed of: Rachel Cooper, director for Cultural Programs and Performing Arts at the Asia Society; Hester Furman, independent producer and programmer; Heather Hitchens, executive director of the New York State Council on the Arts; Gordon Knox, director of the Arizona State University Art Museum; and Wayne Wallace, arranger, educator, composer, and head of Patois Records.

The awards are the last in a three-year $1,350,000 initiative by the Gerbode and Hewlett foundations to support fresh, dynamic collaborations in contemporary dance, theater, and music. In 2008, grants were made for choreographer collaborations, and in 2009, for playwright collaborations.

(—from the press release)