Grantee Database

PIANO SPHERES

Grant Year

2022-23

Grant Program

General Operating Support

Award Amount

$30,000.00

Project Description

With support from CAC, Piano Spheres will pay artist fees and expenses for Resident Artist for Historically Underrepresented Groups Dr. William Chapman Nyaho, salary for retiring Executive Director Heidi Lesemann, and expenses to search for a new ED in 2023. PS seeks candidates from historically underrepresented groups for this position.

Organization Summary

Over 30 seasons, Piano Spheres has presented over 1028 works for piano, 135 premieres, by more than 520 composers from across the globe. These works include primarily solo works but also include duo piano, piano chamber music, and piano vocal music, comprising 98 premieres. The heart of their programming is the Core Artist series of concerts by Core Artists Vicki Ray, Aron Kallay, Thomas Kotcheff and Nic Gerpe, world renowned guest artists like Ursula Oppens, Lisa Moore and Jeffrey Kahane, and Emeritus Artists Gloria Cheng and Mark Robson. The PS Core and Emeritus Artists also mentor and spotlight the next generation of concert pianists through their Emerging Artist Series, now in its ninth season. With support from the NEA and the City of Los Angeles, PS artists mentor younger concert pianists in how to approach the study, analysis and performance of new works with their commissioned composers. Public workshops featuring the young artists, mentors, and commissioned composers are held prior to each Emerging Artist Series concert. In 2020 Piano Spheres began its Summer Jazz Series featuring public performances by well known local jazz pianists such as Gerald Clayton, Joshua White and Roger Kellaway, Jamael Dean and Paul Cornish, with outreach to underserved local communities.

In 2022 PS inaugurated the groundbreaking Stein Artist Residency for Underrepresented Groups (StARHUG), naming Dr. William Chapman Nyaho as Resident Artist for 2022/23, whose primary focus is the music of the African Diaspora. Our StARHUG artist for 2023/24 is legendary Los Angeles pianist Althea Waites who has dedicated her career to performing and recording the music of Black American composers. Our StARHUG Artist for 2024/25 is Dr. Andrés Jaramillo, who specializes in the music of LatinX composers.

Organization

Piano Spheres

Address

4209 VIA ARBOLADA UNIT 231

LOS ANGELES

90042-5095

County

Los Angeles

Region

South – Los Angeles & Orange

Phone

(310) 344-3454

Congressional District

California Assembly district 51

State Assembly District

District 51

State Senate District

District 24

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