By Sepehr Pirasteh, Graduate Music Fellow As the Graduate Music Fellow at the Presser Foundation, I had the opportunity to interview Badie Khaleghian, one of the recipients of the Graduate Music Award and ask about his project, Sounds of Freedom. Badie is a DMA student at Rice University, and I had been following his artistic…
A photo collage of some of the 2022-23 Undergraduate Scholar Award recipients During the 2023-24 year, The Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award program has undergone a “fundamental realignment,” a term used by Scholar Award Committee Chair Dr. Mark Wait to describe how the changes made to the program itself and its overall process. One of…
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,…
Guest Blog Post: The Susquehanna Chorale—Its Legacy and Its FutureGuest Blog Post by Anne Moul Anne Moul is a singer for the Susquehanna Chorale, a Presser Foundation grantee. On a September evening in 1981, inside historic St. Peter’s Kierch in Middletown, Pennsylvania, a small group of singers called the Susquehanna Chorale performed for the…
Commissioning New Music to Cultivate Social ChangeBy Jack Thorpe 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 students who have…
By Sepehr Pirasteh, Graduate Music Fellow In the ever-evolving landscape of the music field, there’s a growing recognition of the need to diversify concert programs and decolonize our musical repertoire. But how can we effectively navigate this complex terrain? Community engagement emerges as a pivotal strategy in this endeavor. The Presser Foundation hosted a Next…
Lizzy Galloway received the 2022-23 Undergraduate Scholar Award from Georgia College and State University. She wrote this letter after receiving the Award. Music has always been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember, and pursuing an education pathway in my music degree has been one of the most important…
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,…
By Abby Rolland 2024 marks the start of a strategic planning process for The Presser Foundation. This initiative is meant to engage the Board, staff, and grantees in ensuring that the Foundation is achieving the long-held mission to provide philanthropic support for music and music education and to fund the musical arts in their many…
By Sepehr Pirasteh, Graduate Music Fellow As a Ph.D. student in composition at Temple University, my passion for music goes beyond the classroom. I crave diverse sounds and connections, and my experience as a Graduate Fellow at The Presser Foundation has been nothing short of transformative. In this post, I want to share my journey…