COMMUNITY
PARTNERS
CALL
FOR PROPOSALS
The Philadelphia
Chapter of the American Composers Forum is seeking proposals from
composers, performers, presenters, and/or ensembles for projects
that foster the creation and performance of new music in the
context of community engagement.
What is Community Partners?
The Philadelphia
Chapter’s Community Partners program places composers in
residencies with community, cultural and educational organizations
to create and perform new works. Whether "community" is defined as
a performing group, residents of a neighborhood, students in a
public school, members of a community center, or members of a
religious congregation, the program seeks to engage people with the
creative process of composition. All projects involve the creation
and performance of a new work and all projects will involve some
form of community engagement.
There is no
"typical" Community Partners project: each is tailored to the
needs, interests and resources of the partner organizations, their
respective constituencies and the participating artists. However,
several elements are common to most projects:
DESIGNING A
PROJECT: A period during which the Chapter Director works with the
composer and/or partner organization to design a residency;
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: A period during which the composer engages
community participants in a workshop or performance format;
PERFORMANCE(S). The new work is presented in one or more public
performances.
Past Community
Partners projects have included performances of new works at local
schools involving school children as performers, compositions that
are presented by local performing organizations, and music
workshops with local residents.
Applicant
Eligibility
Composers,
performers, ensembles and presenters in the Philadelphia region are
eligible to apply. Applicants do not need to be members of the
American Composers Forum; however, artists whose projects are
funded must become Forum members at the initiation of the project,
and must be current members at the end of the project in order to
receive awards. In order to encourage greater access to and broader
distribution of the resources available, the Forum prefers to fund
only one project per year for the same artist.
Award
Criteria
Awards for
project proposals addressing the Forum's mission will be based on
the following criteria:
• Artistic
merit.
• Quality and depth of community engagement.
• Degree to which underserved or nontraditional audiences for new
music is included.
• Demonstrated ability of the artist and partner organization(s) to
carry out the project.
• Ability to leverage other support, including new support for the
composition of new music.
• Degree to
which the project is well planned and feasible.
• Significance of the project to the applicant's
career.
Grant
Amounts
For
all proposals, the range of funding available per project is a
maximum of $5,000. Applications
that include financial support (cash and/or in-kind contributions)
from the host site, community organization, participating artists
or ensembles, and/or other supporters, are strongly
encouraged.
How
to Submit a Proposal
All applicants
are strongly encouraged to contact the Chapter Director to discuss
their proposal. To submit a proposal, review the following
guidelines to determine whether your project meets the
Community
Partners program's award
criteria. Then, complete the
Project Proposal Form. This form is
also available for download at the ACF website
Community Partners
Application
Completed
project applications, should be mailed to:
American Composers Forum – Philadelphia Chapter
PO BOX 13507
Philadelphia, PA 19101
Application
Proposals for consideration must be
postmarked by December 22nd.
Projects should target a completion date of no later than the end
of May 2008.
For More Information
For
more information about the Community
Partners Program or the
Philadelphia Chapter of the American Composers Forum, please
contact Chapter Director, James Falconi at 267 639 2518 or by email
at: phillycomposers@composersforum.org
Current annual dues for members of the American Composers Forum
are: $55 for composers, performers, ensembles and institutions and
$35 for students and seniors.
Dues must be
paid to the Forum headquarters
c/o: Membership Director,
American Composers Forum,
332 Minnesota Street, Suite E-145,
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1300.
Tel: (651) 228-1407/Fax: (651) 291-7978
You
may join online at:
www.composersforum.org
The
Community
Partners program
is made possible by the
William Penn Foundation.
