The Philadelphia Music Project and Presser Foundation Launch Premiere Recording Program...

The Philadelphia Music Project and Presser Foundation Launch Premiere
Recording Program With Announcement of First Grantees

PHILADELPHIA, July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Philadelphia Music
Project (PMP), a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, and
the Presser Foundation award a total of $93,420 to fourPhiladelphia music
organizations in support of an eclectic range of recording projects. These
awards represent the first round of adjudicated grants made from the Premiere
Recording Grant Program, a joint initiative of PMP and the Presser Foundation
whose goal is to document the work of living composers, support the
dissemination of recordings of previously unreleased contemporary music, and
enhance the public profile of grantees.

According to PMP Director Matthew Levy, "2008 Premiere Recording Grants will
support the documentation of a diverse body of repertoire, from chamber works
by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands to modern jazz by avant-garde
saxophonist and Sun Ra Arkestra leader Marshall Allen. Works by Philadelphia
composers are well-represented, including a recently penned Vespers program by
Kile Smith, performed with Renaissance wind instruments, and compositions for
chorale, soloist, and full orchestra by Andrea Clearfield and James Primosch.
These releases will bring remarkable collections of music to new listeners
worldwide."

Robert Capanna, President of the Presser Foundation, noted, "The Presser
Foundation is pleased to have this opportunity to amplify its support for
Philadelphia-based musical organizations through a collaboration with the
Philadelphia Music Project and hopes that these recording projects will
provide the organizations and artists involved with a wider audience and
well-deserved recognition."

2008 Premiere Recording Grant Recipients:

Ars Nova Workshop -- $25,000
To produce five recordings on High Two:

-- Spanish Fly (Steven Bernstein, slide trumpet/valve trumpet; Marcus Rojas,
tuba; Dave Tronzo, electric guitar) performs music by Steven Bernstein
-- Min Xiao-Fen Asian Trio (Min Xiao-Fen, pipa; Okkyung Lee, cello; Satoshi
Takeishi, percussion) performs Return of the Dragon Suite by Min Xiao-Fen
-- Marshall Allen, alto saxophone; Louis Moholo, drums; perform music by Allen
and Moholo
-- John Tchicai, alto saxophone; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Ches Smith, drums;
perform music by Tchicai, Halvorson, and Smith
-- Scorch Trio (R. Bjorkenheim, electric guitar; I. Haker Flaten, double-bass;
P. Nilssen-Love, drums) performs music by Bjorkenheim, Flaten, and
Nilssen-Love

The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia -- $25,000
To produce a recording for innova featuring The Golem Psalms by Andrea
Clearfield and Fire-memory/River-memory by James Primosch. Guest artists:
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Sanford Sylvan, baritone.

Network for New Music -- $18,420
To produce a recording for innova featuring chamber music by Bernard Rands,
including Scherzi; Walcott Songs; Sans Voix Parmi les Voix/Prelude; and now
again -- fragments from Sappho. Guest artist: Janice Felty, mezzo soprano.

Piffaro, the Renaissance Band -- $25,000
To produce a recording for MCM featuring a Vespers program by Kyle Smith.
Guest artists: The Crossing (chamber choir), conducted by Donald Nally.

Grants are awarded on a competitive basis and are selected by a panel of
internationally recognized artists, scholars, and administrators with a broad
knowledge of the field. A distinguished panel reviewed this year's
applications:

-- Steven Stucky (panel chair), Composer/Conductor, Cornell University
-- Peter Burwasser, Presser Foundation representative, Journalist
-- Gerald Cleaver, Composer/Drummer
-- Gil Rose, Artistic Director, Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Music
Director, Opera Boston
-- Augusta Read Thomas, Composer

Complete biographies for all panelists and grantees are available at
www.philadelphiamusicproject.org.

The Philadelphia Music Project fosters artistic excellence and innovation in
the region's nonprofit music community by supporting adventurous programming
that contributes to the advancement of participating organizations. PMP -- one
of seven artistic initiatives of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and
Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The
University of the Arts -- has underwritten 260 projects with support exceeding
$10.8 million since its inception in 1989. www.philadelphiamusicproject.org

The Presser Foundation operates under the will and Deeds of Trust created by
its founder, Theodore Presser. It is one of the few foundations in the United
States dedicated solely to the support of music and music education. The
Presser Foundation has four primary areas of interest: 1. To provide awards to
promising undergraduate and graduate students of music through grants to
accredited institutions in the United States; 2. To enhance music education
and performance by supporting the acquisition of musical equipment and
instruments and the construction and renovation of suitable buildings for
musical instruction and performance; 3. To advance the study and appreciation
of music by aiding the promotion of formal musical programs and projects; 4.
To provide financial relief to worthy teachers of music in distress.
www.presserfoundation.org

SOURCE Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage

Emily Sweeney of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage,
+1-267-350-4960, esweeney@pcah.us