Boston Landmarks Orchestra Receives Major Grants

Article, info, and text provided by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra:

Jeff Makholm, Chair of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra’s Board of Trustees, announced today that the privately funded non-profit has received two three-year grants. The first is a $500,000 yearly gift from the Free for All Concert Fund and the second is a $100,000 gift over three years ($35,000 in 2012) from the Lynch Foundation. In addition, the National Endowment for the Arts has presented the Landmarks Orchestra with a $10,000 grant for its 2013 collaboration with the Conservatory Lab Charter School.

“These three gifts, which cover approximately half of our yearly budget, will enable the Boston Landmarks Orchestra to continue to present free music at the DCR’s Hatch Shell and in Boston neighborhoods for the next three years,” said Makholm. “In this age of reduced funding for the arts we are pleased that these organizations believe we can carry out our mission to bring people together to enjoy wonderful music in great locations,” he continued. 

The Free for All Concert Fund was created to guarantee the presentation of high-quality music in perpetuity. With steady income from a first-phase endowment goal of $20 million, grants will flow to excellent organizations bringing music and related cultural events to the general public. The gift to the Boston Landmarks Orchestra includes a yearly challenge grant, the purpose of which is to encourage the orchestra to find new and more support. The funds will support the Landmarks Orchestra’s primary enterprise of bringing free, orchestral music every Wednesday in the summer to Boston’s Hatch Shell.

The Lynch Foundation’s grant will ensure that the orchestra can reach out to summer programs in Boston neighborhoods by supporting its education initiative with music programs at summer camps and in public, charter, and parochial schools. This year’s gift will support youngsters learning about the music and geography of the Caribbean.

The Landmarks Orchestra has commissioned two works based on the Latin traditions of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. The program, known as Fiesta sinfónica, will be performed at the Hatch Shell on July 18 and at . It will feature works by Venezuelan born and Berklee College of Music graduate Gonzalo Grau and award winning composer Miguel del Aguila. In addition, the Lynch Foundation grant will support an event in Dorchester Park on June 11 where the Landmarks Brass Ensemble will perform with 100 violins played by students from Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy.

About the Boston Landmarks Orchestra: The Boston Landmarks Orchestra plays great music in wonderful places. Its 2012 season opens on June 9 with a gala concert at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, followed by a program in Dorchester Park on June 11 and a salute to the Boston Parks and Recreation Department as part of the agency’s annual Rose Garden Party on June 28. The Landmarks Festival at the Shell opens on July 11 with singers from choirs from all across Greater Boston coming together to perform works by Aaron Copland. The Festival continues every Wednesday night through August 29, with additional performances in Jamaica Plain on July 15, in Brighton on July 9, and in the South End on July 19.