By Jeremy Jefferson, Graduate Music Fellow Graduate Music Fellow Jeremy Jefferson interviewed Dr. Nabile Galván Garcia, the 2023-24 Graduate Music Award recipient from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her project was a multiple-case study conducted in 2024-25 that explored the lived experiences of five Latiné undergraduate music education students who were the first in…
From left to right: Dover Quartet (presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society), Renaissance String Quartet (presented by Tri-County Concerts), Balourdet Quartet (presented by Market Square Concerts) By Jeremy Jefferson, Graduate Music Fellow Throughout my Fellowship, I’ve mentioned chamber music in multiple posts. Chamber music is such a transformative experience for many musicians and is critical…
The Undergraduate Scholar Award was established by The Presser Foundation to celebrate undergraduate music students who have achieved a high level of musical and academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and service, and contributed to an inclusive community. Each year, one student in their final year at hundreds of higher education institutions across the country is chosen as the…
Leon Bates: 1949-2025 Renowned pianist, lifelong Philadelphian, and longtime Trustee of The Presser Foundation Leon Bates passed away on November 21, 2025. As a child growing up in Germantown, Bates showed talent as early as age 6, later attending both Settlement Music School and Temple University. For more than five decades, he performed across the…
The Presser Foundation announces $1,518,500 in grants to 171 music organizations throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area, marking the first time the Foundation has distributed more than $1.5 million in a single grant cycle.* This year, 164 single-year grants and seven multi-year grants were awarded. Small organizations continued to represent a significant portion of grantees, with…
Each summer, The Presser Foundation staff look closely at the previous years’ applications and reports, asking themselves one key question: What’s truly essential? Our goal is to keep only the questions that inform grant decisions so that applicants can spend less time completing paperwork and more time performing music, presenting music, and educating music students…
By Jeremy Jefferson, Graduate Music Fellow Introduction AI has become a trending topic lately for a multitude of reasons: How does it affect the environment? Is its risk beneficial or ultimately detrimental? Is it ethical and moral, and to what extent will we as humans use, and ultimately, depend on it? All of these are…
The Presser Foundation has approved the nominations of 265 exceptional music students nationwide as 2025-26 Undergraduate Scholar Award recipients, providing nearly $800,000 to advance the next generation of musicians. Each Presser Scholar receives $3,000 in recognition of their outstanding achievements in musical and academic performance, leadership and service, and contributions to building inclusive communities. The…
From left to right: Ambler Station Singers, Mosaic Youth Chorus, Mendelssohn Chorus By Jeremy Jefferson, Graduate Music Fellow Introduction It’s been around five months since I’ve started my Fellowship with The Presser Foundation, and I cannot express how thankful I am for this time. I’ve learned so much about philanthropy, grantmaking, and above all, how…
By Kate Houstoun On one evening in November 2025 – one hundred years after Theodore Presser’s passing – more than 200 people from over 150 organizations gathered in Philadelphia for the first time, forming in one place the musical community The Presser Foundation has supported for a century. Grantees, trustees, musicians, and longtime partners came…