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…
As part of our Next Movement Series, The Presser Foundation is hosting a conversation focused on Using Data to Power Your Work.* The event will take place on Thursday, September 12th from 12-1pm ET on Zoom. The Foundation has engaged with Candid, a nonprofit organization that collects data and information about the nonprofit sector, conducts research, and shares…
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…
The “Sa Ináng Báyan: To the Motherland” recital at Indiana University By Raoul Carlo F. Angangco 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…
By Abby Rolland When I started working at The Presser Foundation two years ago, part of my mission and my responsibility was to increase the level of transparency in the Foundation’s external communications. This work included a great deal of effort at the beginning (and continuous monitoring and updating now). At the time, it involved…
By Teresa Rodgers and Abby Rolland As staff at The Presser Foundation, some of our favorite events are the Next Movement Idea Forums. Any time that we have the opportunity to connect with and learn from the Foundation’s grantee partners is wonderful, and Next Movement provides a space to grow through what we think of…
Angeles Ondish received the 2022-23 Undergraduate Scholar Award from Seton Hill University. She wrote this letter to the University’s Music Department advocating for herself to be selected as the Award recipient. My name is Angeles Ondish, a soon to be senior music education major at Seton Hill University, and I believe that I qualify for…
As part of our Next Movement Series, The Presser Foundation is hosting a conversation focused on Centering Community Voice into Music Organizations.* The event will take place on Tuesday, September 12th from 12-1pm ET on Zoom. The Foundation is eager to welcome leaders at four music educating organizations to share information about their community-focused work. Speakers will…
Image: Claire Moustafellos works on a project for the Foundation during her summer internship. By Claire Moustafellos What piqued my interest when applying to and interviewing for The Presser Foundation Internship, was the strong focus surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA). What I didn’t realize when going through this process, was that I would…
Image: Cassandra (Cassie) Slade works on a project for the Foundation during her summer internship. By Cassandra Slade Toward the end of my junior year at Temple University, I began to explore various options for how I would spend my summer. In an effort to pursue my interest in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and…