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…
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…
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…
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…