Music Education and Community Organizations Receive $2 Million in Awards

The Lewis Prize for Music focuses on organizations that give young people access to music education, strengthen the well-being of their communities, and put music at the center of efforts to establish equity.

This year's recipients help young people learn, create, and perform in ways that reflect their culture and identity.

"By supporting music leaders across the country to continue their great work, we hope to inspire other partners to work together to ensure every young person has the opportunity to access transformative music learning, performance and creation," a statement reads.

The awards are as follows:

The Accelerator Awards, worth $500,000, provides multi-year support for sustained progress within ambitious community change initiatives. The recipients are:

• INTEMPO, in Stamford, CT, is an afterschool program and summer music camp that offers children the opportunity to express themselves through classical music. Almost every student comes from an immigrant background, and their newest music program at three Stamford public schools is specifically for children who are new arrivals/English Learners.
• RYSE Youth Center built the RYSE Commons, a 45,000 sq. ft. youth designed campus for music, arts, culture, and healing in Richmond, CA. It is a place where integral parts of a hurting and glorious city come to shed conflict so that they may seek and create solutions.
• The Heartbeat Music Project (HMP), in Crownpoint, NM,  Navajo Nation, offers tuition-free music education and Diné cultural education to Navajo youth. In addition to expanding economic access, HMP is dedicated to disrupting colonial systems that tell Diné youth that Western music and instruments are only for “elites” and not for them.
• We are Culture Creators provides high quality arts/entrepreneurship education for young people of color in Detroit with an emphasis on professional development, strategic goal setting, and artistic integrity.

The Infusion Awards, worth $50,000, provides single-year support to leaders and programs creating new musical platforms and pathways in their communities.

• Roots of Music creates the next generation of New Orleans musicians, offering year-round music education, academic enrichment and support, healthy meals, and free transportation and instruments.
• The White Hall Arts Academy (WHAA) is a performing arts organization in South Los Angeles that offers a blend of classical and contemporary conservatory level training to children and adults.

The Catalyst Award, worth $25,000, provides single-year support to leaders and programs with impressive impact and reach.

• The Media Rhythm Institute (“MRI”) in Baltimore, MD, is a collective of youth media arts programs that engage youth to explore their passions and strengthen their skills in music and media.
• Totem Star in Seattle, WA has championed the voices of talented young recording artists in the studio and on the stage through music production, performance, and mentorship.

For more information on each organization, click here.