Early Music America offers awards annually in the amount of up to $1,500 to support projects for children and/or adults by organizations, ensembles, and individual artists. The awards are intended to promote awareness and appreciation of early music and historical performance. EMA's goal is to draw new audiences and participants. More specifically, engagement includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Early-music activities that focus on children, in or out of school.
- Early-music activities in public and private schools.
- Lifelong learning courses on early music.
- Web, video, podcast, or other creative activities that advance public awareness and enjoyment of early music.
- Early-music activities that reach underserved audiences and populations and historically underfunded racial or ethnic identity groups, especially African-American, Asian-American, Latinx, and Indigenous communities.
Eligibility
1) Early Music America membership is required of all applicants:
- Institutions must be an EMA Organization Member to apply for any project to be carried out by that institution.
- Example: Our Town Viol Consort would like to receive funding for a series of educational events. Our Town Viol Consort must be a an Organization Member at the time of application. The Executive Director, Jane Smith, an EMA Personal Member, may not apply on behalf of Our Town Viol Consort via her membership.
- Students may redeem a one-year complimentary student membership once during their course of study.
- If you are unsure of your membership status or have other questions regarding the membership requirement, please email specialprojects@earlymusicamerica.org
2) Each applicant may submit no more than one proposal per year.
3) Award recipients are ineligible to apply until the third year following their award. If you receive an Engagement Award in 2023, you may re-apply in 2026.
4) Current EMA board members and staff are not eligible to apply.
5) Proposed projects must take place between July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024.
6) Projects must take place in North or South America.
Application Instructions and Information
1) Completed online application forms must be submitted by Monday, April 17, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.
2) Awardees will be notified by Monday, May 1, 2023 and must accept by Friday, May 5, 2023.
3) Awardees are required to submit a final report, including high resolution video or photos, following the completion of their Engagement Award-funded project. Final reports should be submitted within one month of the completion of the project and no later than Friday, June 30, 2024.
We highly encourage you to submit your application several days prior to the deadline, so we can resolve any issues in a timely matter. We will not be able to accept any applications after the deadline has passed.
Questions about this application may be sent to specialprojects@earlymusicamerica.org.