New Music Assistance Fund Launched For Musicians Affected By COVID-19

It has been announced the launch of the New Music Solidarity Fund - to grant emergency funding to musicians whose livelihood has been impacted by the COVID-19 virus

The launch of the New Music Solidarity Fund has been announced today in New York City - an initiative aimed to grant emergency funding to American freelance musicians whose livelihood has been impacted by the COVID-19 virus.

The fund, to be administered by New Music USA, was started by a group of musicians in the new music community who have raised over US $130,000 in one week.

As part of the initiative, at least 260 musicians, who've had projects involving living composers cancelled due to the pandemic, will receive a $US 500 emergency assistance grant.

The New Music Solidarity Fund is made possible through the collective organizational efforts of a number of leading artists, including: Marcos Balter, Julia Bullock, Claire Chase, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Du Yun, Judd Greenstein, Reena Esmail, Nico Muhly, Andrew Norman, Christian Reif, Christopher Rountree, Caroline Shaw, Conrad Tao and Seth Parker Woods.

“Self-preservation can’t so much be on the minds of musicians, because one of the fundamentals of music making is acknowledging that we are providing a service for one another ... at this immediate time, the support of this fund is financial, but I hope it will resonate well beyond that, once more people know the feeling of solidarity amongst artists,” soprano Julia Bullock has today said.

Applications will open on the 31st of March - and will continue until the 30th of April.

The US $500 grants will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis as funds last.

For further details and eligibility, visit: https://bit.ly/2QMdwIP