Ellery Eskelin wrote:
Just for the record, Chamber Music America's Jazz Grant (Doris Duke Jazz
Ensembles Project - New Works: Creation and Presentation) does NOT do
this. They did it the first year but have since stopped doing so.
That's really dumb for so many reasons, but in this regard CMA an
exception to nearly every other funding agency in the field.
Also, to be eligible to apply one must be a Chamber Music America member
at the organization level which costs about $120. That's a pretty stiff
application fee for many people.
Also pretty dumb for a program that should be a kind of outreach to a
new constituency for them, though I sort of understand why it makes
sense to them for the categories of support for the "traditional"
chamber groups they've served in the past. They should at least waive
the membership fee for bands that haven't dealt with them previously.
My experience on both sides of this (having sat on panels and having
been an applicant) is that it's a pretty brutal process as far as music
goes. It's great for the folks who've gotten one and it's good for the
audience who gets to experience new works that otherwise might not get
produced, but it's kind of indicative of the inherent unfairness of our
capitalist system with respect to the arts that it takes something
barely more effective than a lottery to try and remedy it.
I'm not sure the grant process is much more brutal than getting club
gigs or record contracts, & I certainly don't think of it as any kind
of remedy to those situations. It's just another option that's
somewhat more clearly public and, because in most instances, the
panel makeup changes periodically, more open to some kinds of
vagaries that I guess you're referring to when you use the word
"lottery."
As I tried to be clear earlier, I don't think any funding option,
whether it's the slightly more business-related model of gigs and
record companies, or some kind of grant application, is going to work
for everyone and for many artists, unfortunately, none of them will
work very well at all.
As I also tried to be clear earlier, I don't think it's reasonable to
expect otherwise. It may be the case that everyone has the right to
express themselves, but that doesn't mean that any one else is
obligated to buy a particular self-expression.
--
Herb Levy
P O Box 9369
Fort Worth, TX 76147
herb(a)eskimo.com
