Rarely do wishes materialize without a great deal of work, but as Entrepreneurship Center for Music (ECM) Director Jeffery Nytch can attest, sometimes they fall right into your lap. While contemplating how he could best serve students during the COVID-19 lockdown, Nytch got a call that would change everything.
鈥淢y cousin, Mary Lou West, called me up one day just to ask if she could do anything to help my students,鈥� Nytch explains.听
It turns out that this simple question ended up constituting more than $15,000 worth of student grants. Nytch invited students to submit proposals for how they would use the money to support a project or business over the summer. He wound up receiving 27 excellent ideas鈥攁ll of which received some amount of funding.
鈥淚 had always had this idea of giving out mini grants to students as a way of encouraging them to create a project or business on their own,鈥� Nytch says. 鈥淚 had no idea that I would be lucky enough to implement it during the pandemic when so many artists have lost jobs and need to create new opportunities for themselves.鈥�
Tech, instruments and the business of dreams
Social distancing has made being able to make at-home quality recordings an imperative for students. Many summer festivals have moved online, and auditions require recordings with high-quality audio. In response, many applicants, such as current junior and classical guitar major Isabella Fincher, used their funding to set up an at-home recording studio. To stay on task, Fincher even signed up for an online accountability group听set up between the ECM and Michigan State University.
鈥淚 knew that the best way for me to realize my goals would be to have others around who supported me and who were also looking for that support and intent in their own work,鈥� Fincher explains.听
It turned out to be a good idea, as Fincher was able to use her grant-funded equipment to make a recording of herself playing Sofia Gubaidulina鈥檚 鈥淪erenade.鈥� She also intends to record the 20-minute 鈥淗istoire du Tango鈥� by Astor Piazzolla with听flutist Erika Gossett听as the Ikigai Duo,听helping to bolster their social media presence and visibility as a guitar-flute duo.
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A grant of purpose
Another grant went toward a new business and performance organization called the Something鈥檚 Happening Ensemble, or SOHAP. The group鈥檚 founders, Sabina Balsamo and Chas Barnard, both graduated with master鈥檚 degrees from the College of Music in May and are looking for a way to give back to the community they鈥檝e come to love.听
鈥淲ith everything that鈥檚 happening to the arts industry during the pandemic and seeing even more clearly the need to give voice to underrepresented composers, we felt that it was important to start an organization that addressed both of these issues,鈥� Balsamo explains.
SOHAP will focus on outreach in schools, helping introduce young musicians to new music through lessons and performances. The group recently performed current DMA student Ben Morris鈥� piece 鈥淭he Very Hungry Caterpillar鈥� based on the children鈥檚 book by Eric Carle, which they hoped would bring joy to kids who might be struggling with big changes in their worlds.听
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鈥淭he ECM grant helped us to commission two new pieces, but even more than that it gave us access to mentorship and the ability to say that we鈥檝e already won grants as an organization,鈥� Balsamo says. 鈥淒r. Nytch has been so generous with his time and expertise and we鈥檙e grateful for that.鈥�
When it officially launches in November, SOHAP will feature performances of underrepresented composers and new music, a listener鈥檚 club and private lessons taught by Balsamo and Barnard.
Commenting on the future of the grant, Nytch says, 鈥淚t has been a fantastic way to realize a new avenue of providing accessibility and mentorship to students. The ultimate goal is to be able to provide students with something like this every year so that they can continue or begin in whatever endeavors they choose to pursue.鈥�
