It’s been a busy 2023 at The Presser Foundation! With music at the center of all we do, the Board, Committees, and staff have been actively engaged in facilitating grant cycles, communicating with grantees in a variety of ways, attending site visits and performances, hosting virtual Next Movement Idea Forums, embarking on a strategic planning…
The Presser Foundation is pleased to include 37 new institutions for a total of 244 institutions that will be included in the 2023-24 Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award program. The Award is designed to encourage and support in a special way the education and career of one music student at each school who has achieved a…
An image from Race Against Racism, a collaboration of Lancaster YMCA and Music For Everyone By Dr. John R. Gerdy, Founder and Executive Director, Music For Everyone As the founder and executive director of a music related Community Benefit Organization (CBO), I constantly think of how to more effectively leverage the power and potential of…
Images featuring Russell Fisher performing the steel pan compositions By Russell Fisher Invited annually, graduate schools of music present the Presser Graduate Music Award to an outstanding graduate music student whom they select. The program is designed to encourage and support in a special way the advanced education and career of truly exceptional graduate music…
By Sepehr Pirasteh As The Presser Foundation’s Graduate Music Fellow, I have the opportunity to experience various performances hosted by many different music organizations. This month, I chose one of the newest grantee partners of The Presser Foundation, Fire Museum Presents, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting creative music in Philadelphia. After attending two of…
The Presser Foundation’s final Next Movement of 2023 partnered with Candid, a nonprofit organization that collects data and information about the nonprofit sector, conducts research, and shares resources and analysis about nonprofits and funders. The session featured information about Candid’s platforms, its Seals of Transparency program, and how providing an organization’s data and information to…
This is one in a series of blog posts featuring each one of The Presser Foundation’s Board and Committee members. These individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences but have one trait in common – they love music. Keep an eye out on the series to learn more about each member, their background,…
Sepehr Pirasteh is The Presser Foundation’s 2023-24 Graduate Music Fellow. In this post, he shares his experience attending PRISM Quartet Inc.’s most recent concert and collaboration with composer Susie Ibarra and discusses why commissioning new music is so important. By Sepehr Pirasteh Background: About PRISM Quartet PRISM Quartet is a renowned chamber ensemble in…
The Presser Foundation Announces More Than $71,000 in New Special Project Grants to Music OrganizationsThe Presser Foundation is pleased to announce new Special Project single year and multi-year grants totaling $71,500 to 12 music organizations. This year, music organizations applied for grants within three of the following categories: 1) pilot projects/programs, 2) first-time, ongoing programmatic collaborations,…
City College of New York campus Chalmers Mathew received the 2022-23 Undergraduate Scholar Award from the City College of New York. He wrote this letter as a thank you to The Presser Foundation last spring. Thank you for generously choosing me for the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award. It is a great honor to receive this…