SCHENECTADY, New York, December 21, 2006 – PROCTORS announced today that it is the recipient of a grant from The New York State Music Fund (“The Fund”) for its DANGEROUS MUSIC PROJECT. Proctors Dangerous Music Project provides F’loom, a vocal ensemble dedicated to language music, a two year position as artist in residence of the new GE Theatre at Proctors. As part of this venture, F’loom will curate The Dangerous Music Project, wherein experimental genres with be explored through a live performance series, complete with artist presentation and dialogue with community members; as well as a series of educational workshops in regional school districts and community organizations.
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.
Proctors Dangerous Music Project is indicator of the transformation begun during the recent expansion campaign. As part of this expansion Proctors built the new GE Theatre, a multi tasking black box with a capacity of 400. In addition to housing the iWERKS large format film presentations, this theatre was designed by Jerry Marshal to be acoustically tunable in order to present intimate musical events that the larger traditional stage might not accomodate to best advantage. The GE Theatre allows Proctors the opportunity to present art that is investigational, avant garde, resistant to labeling. F’loom, as artist in residence of this new space, will delineate it as stage, classroom, and incubator for potential. In this capacity Proctors can respect its vaudevillian past, yet be free to acknowledge the needs of an emerging diversity of cultural and artistic sensibilities.
The Dangerous Music Project will cultivate a new audience from a multifaceted community, creating and sustaining appreciation for innovative music. Additionally, F’loom, and three other performing groups participating in the series, will be commissioned to produce new work. The Dangerous Music Project will culminate with a community based a capella festival wherein F’loom will adjudicate amongst area choral groups. The Dangerous Music Project will not only propagate music education, but also celebrate the music of our time.
The New York State Music Fund published guidelines and criteria and accepted grant applications in a number of categories, including music education and public performances of music by artists working in hip hop, reggae, fusion, jazz, classical and folk music of all cultures. Applications related to recording, distribution, or broadcast through traditional or new media were also eligible. Special emphasis was placed on reaching underserved populations and broadening awareness of artists, genres or styles with limited access to commercial broadcast or other mass distribution vehicles.
An Advisory Panel comprised of recognized leaders from a cross-section of the music world evaluated and recommended applications based on criteria focusing on artistic merit and community impact, and recommended 218 of 402 applications the Fund received for its second cycle.
Awards to the 218 grantees represent every region of New York State and range from $10,000 to $500,000. Diverse forms of popular or experimental music, including indie rock, salsa, electronic, fusion and reggae account for almost 37 percent of grants and more than 15 percent celebrate a spectrum of jazz; nearly 25 percent include new classical music. The state’s ethnic or racial minority communities are served by close to a third of all programs, while 28 percent specifically target rural communities. The Fund’s size and emphasis on music of our time in all its forms set it apart from other arts grant programs.