WPCNR STAGE DOOR. From Westchester Arts Council. December 20, 2006: Westchester Arts Council is the recipient of a $115,000.00 grant from The New York State Music Fund (“The Fund”) to support the Triple Hill Music Festival, a new festival to be held in Mount Vernon, New York. The Triple Hill Festival will feature community concerts, music education programming in- and after-school, and Rock My Soul: the Black Legacy of Rock & Roll, a traveling exhibition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The White Plains Library Foundation of White Plains has also been awarded $28,000 to support free performances and outreach workshops of A Salute To Comtemporary Music featuring 10 artists representing various genres, including, folk, blues, jazz and gospel.
SUNY Purchase (Purchase) has also been awared $80,000 to commission two works by contemporary Cuban-American composer Tania León and Puerto Rican-Bronx-based composer Ray Santos to be performed by the Purchase Symphony Orchestra and the Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra.
The New York State Music Fund was created when the New York State Attorney General’s Office resolved investigations against major record companies that had violated state and federal laws prohibiting “pay for play” (also called “payola”). The settlement agreement stipulated that funds paid by music businesses would support music education and appreciation for the benefit of New York State residents. The Attorney General’s Office enlisted the services of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, one of the nation’s largest and most experienced philanthropy services, to develop and manage the grant program.
The Triple Hill Music Festival will to provide access to and awareness of the contributions of African-Americans in the development of rock and roll through gospel, rhythm & blues, jazz, folk and blues music. The anchor of the Festival is an exhibit and education program entitled Rock My Soul: the Black Legacy of Rock & Roll, to be housed at the Mt. Vernon Public Library. A companion educational curriculum will be made available to the schools along with teacher training in its use. The festival also includes a series of Master Classes and performances for students, parents and the local community.
An Advisory Panel comprised of recognized leaders from a cross-section of the music world evaluated and recommended 218 of the 402 applications the Fund received. The grant awards total $19 million for performances, presentations, commissions and educational programs taking place in New York State over the next year, and in a few select cases over the next two years. Together with the $13 million awarded in the first cycle of grants, the total for 2006 comes to $32 million. Of this amount, nearly a million dollars supports Westchester’s arts organizations.
