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…
In her capacity as Executive Director of The Presser Foundation, Teresa Rodgers serves as the chair of Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia’s Arts & Culture Funders Community of Practice. This Community of Practice is where a variety of arts focused grantmakers meet to discuss support for the arts, relevant trends, and other topics related to the…
The Assistance to Music Teachers grantmaking area is a unique and longstanding program of The Presser Foundation’s. Founder Theodore Presser cared deeply about supporting retired music teachers and also felt a sense of gratitude for the thousands of music teachers who were the primary customers of his music publication business. Over the years, the program…
By Sepehr Pirasteh, Graduate Music Fellow A major challenge for ensembles focused on historical music, like baroque or medieval, is diversifying their programming. While commissioning or performing new works is an approach for some groups, it might not always be feasible for organizations dedicated to performing a particular period of music. A more nuanced…
Above from left to right: Ayanna Woods of the The Crossing, Ariel Alvarado of Wilmington Children’s Chorus, and Chill Moody of The Mann Center Three of the Foundation’s grantee partners received Special Project grants to support fellowship/residency programs – music performer The Crossing (single year grant), music presenter The Mann Center for the Performing…
La Tasha Butler received the 2022-23 Undergraduate Scholar Award from Arizona State University (ASU). She wrote this letter after receiving the Award and answered several questions about her experiences at ASU. I started playing violin in the fourth grade. You can imagine what a fourth grader learning violin sounds like, but to me it was…
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…