Grant of $2,500 Will Benefit Harding’s Instrumental Music Program
Harding Fine Arts Academy is pleased to announce it has received a $2,500 grant from The Mockingbird Foundation. The funds will be used to support their Instrumental Music Program to purchase sheet music from Black and African composers.
Instrumental Music Program Director, Abigail Pappas, applied for this grant last summer in response to her ongoing work to “decolonize the music classroom” and offer Harding students sheet music from non- European composers. Pappas wanted students to see themselves in the music the school performed but realized the music library had a very limited selection of music.
“Harding’s Black and African American student demographic is higher than the national average, and a component of teaching responsively is to offer students music that is reflective of their lives and experiences” said Pappas. “I made a compelling case for how strongly these composers and their music would positively impact the lives of our students, and I think the Mockingbird Foundation saw how important this work is. I am so grateful they chose our school to help realize these goals and Harding’s continued mission to elevate every student and their voice,” she said.
Harding Fine Arts originally requested $2,000 from the Foundation for this project, but having been so impressed with the application, the Board decided to increase to award amount to $2,500.
The Mockingbird Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit founded and run entirely by Phish fans, provides grants for music education for children, through competitive grants, emergency-related grants, and tour-related grants. Competitive grants are awarded through a two-tiered grant application process that is among the most competitive in the country.
“The Mockingbird Foundation is proud to support the Harding Fine Arts Academy with a grant to expand their sheet music library to include music by composers from the Black and African Diaspora,” said Adam Scheinberg, President of the Board of Directors at the Mockingbird Foundation. “Poignant and timely music education initiatives, like the one at Harding, are so needed in today’s world,” he said.
The Mockingbird Foundation announced sixteen (16) new grants totaling $111,771 in support of music education for children. This was the 25th round of competitive grant funding and the largest disbursement in the Foundation’s history.
“We are incredibly grateful for the increased support from the Mockingbird Foundation. This project will help us continue to develop deeper, more meaningful connections between our students and the richly diverse world in which we live.” said Superintendent Barry Schmelzenbach of Harding Fine Arts Academy.
About The Mockingbird Foundation: The Mockingbird Foundation has been operated entirely by volunteer fans, with no salaries or paid staff, since its inception. Mockingbird is now a leading provider of historical information about the band Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through phish.net since 1994. Also a leading grantmaker in music education for children, the Foundation has now made 460 grants, in all 50 states, totaling $1,623,786.40. Proceeds are generated by celebrating the music of Phish through books, recordings, art, donations, and special events, including poster exhibitions, poker tournaments, and golf tournaments.
