Brevard Music Center awarded $10,000 grant for Rigoletto production

Brevard Music Center is among the National Endowment for the Arts’ recipients of the second round of North Carolina grants for fiscal year 2015. Nine nonprofits across the state received $225,000 during this round, including the $10,000 awarded to Brevard Music Center. The funds will be used for a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, which will eventually show in Asheville.

“The co-production between Brevard’s Janiec Opera Company and Asheville Lyric Opera will be the first collaboration between the two organizations,” reads the NC Arts Council release. “Performances will take place at the Porter Center on the campus of Brevard College and at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville this summer.”

Here is the full release, including all nine grant recipients, from the NC Arts Council:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced today that nine nonprofit organizations in the state will receive more than $225,000 as part of the second round of grants for fiscal year 2015.

This round of funding also supports the NEA’s partnership with state arts agencies in all fifty states. Through this partnership, the North Carolina Arts Council receives annual funding based on the state’s population size and the agency’s accomplishments. This year, the Arts Council will receive $899,100.

In total, the NEA plans to make 1,023 awards totaling $74.3 million nationwide in this funding round to promote opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.

“The NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity, and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States including in North Carolina,” NEA Chairman Jane Chu said. Funding these new projects represents a significant investment in local communities and the creative vitality of North Carolina.

Below is a list of grants to North Carolina organizations:

Appalachian State University, Boone
$10,000
To support An Appalachian Summer Festival, which includes music, dance, theater, film, and visual arts programs.

Brevard Music Center, Inc., Brevard
$10,000
To support a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The co-production between Brevard’s Janiec Opera Company and Asheville Lyric Opera will be the first collaboration between the two organizations. Performances will take place at the Porter Center on the campus of Brevard College and at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville this summer.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
$50,000
To support the creation and production of “Leaving Eden” at Playmakers Repertory Company. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Joseph Haj and written by North Carolina playwright Mike Wiley, the original musical will explore the death of the mill industry in the state, and will focus on the stories of millworkers in the textile, furniture, and tobacco industries. The work will be generated through community outreach efforts, and created in partnership with traditional North Carolina musicians and millworkers from across the state.

Afro-American Cultural Center, Inc., Charlotte
$25,000
To support a residency program for guest curators at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art. Artist talks, workshops, curator-led tours, and a partnership with local schools will be part of the program.

Greensboro Symphony Orchestra Inc., Greensboro
$15,000
To support family concerts with full orchestral concerts with related educational and outreach activities for at-risk students and families; and community concerts for at-risk preschoolers at venues such as the Greensboro Science Center, the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, and the International Civil Rights Center.

United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, Greensboro
$25,000
To support the Arts Innovation Grant Program of Arts Greensboro, a subgranting program will support creative arts collaborations, projects, and programming geared toward building sustainable growth in audiences.

University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro
$20,000
To support an evaluation of the effect of a participatory, structured visual arts program on the neuropsychiatric symptoms of older adults with cognitive impairment. The program, ARTmail, involves participants who collaborate in creating visual art works in the abstract expressionist style during an eight-week period with the help of trained volunteers.

Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc., Hillsborough
$20,000
To support performances of traditional music to accompany the “We Are the Music Makers!” multimedia exhibit. Performances by traditional musicians will complement an interactive exhibit of photographs and recordings celebrating

North Carolina Black Repertory Company, Inc., Winston-Salem
$50,000
To support the National Black Theatre Festival. The festival will feature productions by professional companies, a solo performance series, a fringe festival, workshops, film screenings, and activities for youth.

For more information visit www.nea.gov.

For more information on the North Carolina Arts Council visit www.NCArts.org.

About the North Carolina Arts Council
The North Carolina Arts Council works to make North Carolina The Creative State where a robust arts industry produces a creative economy, vibrant communities, children prepared for the 21st century and lives filled with discovery and learning. The Arts Council accomplishes this in partnership with artists and arts organizations, other organizations that use the arts to make their communities stronger and North Carolinians-young and old-who enjoy and participate in the arts. For more information visit www.ncarts.org.