2022 Grow Your Art Grants Awarded to NEC Students and Alumni

NEC's Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department awarded grants to Akenya Seymour ('14), Amanda Ekery ('18 MM), Anna Abondolo ('22), and Jonathan Starks ('20) for their respective achievements below.

The jury for the 2022 grants comprised NEC Provost and Dean of Faculty, Benjamin Sosland; Director of Cultural Equity and Belonging, Monique Van Willingh; faculty member Ted Reichman; and NEC Alumni Rayna Chou.

The jury heard the finalists' pitches and judged based on factors such as the intended benefit to others, the viability of the project's budget, and the future sustainability of the project. The pitch competition was streamed and can be watched here.

2022 Project Grant Winners

Akenya Seymour | First Prize, $7,500

"Moon in the 4th is a sonically eclectic and deeply personal work that explores the nuance of identity, spirituality, esotericism, and love."
http://www.akenyamusic.com

Amanda Ekery, El Paso Jazz Girls | First Runner-Up, $2,250
"El Paso Jazz Girls is pivoting to focus on production of students' original music, preparing professional development workshops for local high school teachers, and building awareness for our program. In 4 years, El Paso Jazz Girls has created a support system for 90+ female musicians!"
https://www.epjazzgirls.com

Anna Abondolo & Jonathan Starks, O R D E R | Second Runner-Up, $2,250
"This twisted coming of age tale explores themes of prophecy and inwardness, augmented by spatialized sound and intricate lighting for a complete immersive experience. ORDER is an experimental theatrical production premiering in New England Conservatory's Black Box Theatre May of 2022."
https://metropolisensemble.org/artists-collection/anna-abondolo

2022 Grant Project Finalists

Zion Dyson | Cambodian Village Fund Music Education Program
Cambodian Village Fund provides free music education to English language students, grades 3-12, in rural Prey Touch Commune Cambodia.

Jack Earnhart | The Art of the Brass Mouthpiece, The Earnhart Company
Earnhard created a new design process for brass mouthpieces that optimizes the interaction of the mouthpiece with the artist and their instrument.

Ehud Ettun | Internal Compass Music
Ettun launched a music center and international music school in the middle of Israel's Negev Desert acting as a lab of music and social change.

Rob Flax | Chessboard Drum Machine
Flax made music with a smart chessboard using original software that converts the position of the pieces into midi messages.

Zachary Hicks & Ethan D'Ver | Off the Chamber
Off the Chamber is a new concert series celebrating chamber music written for nonstandard combinations of instruments

Annie Jacobs-Perkins | Silent Wood, Deep River as part of Insert Music Here
This climate activism concert tour and recording project partners with California's conservation sites to examine humans' relationship to nature.