Lafayette Receives $15,000 NEA Grant

Will support the performance of jazz at Williams Center for the Arts

Lafayette has received a $15,000 Art Works grant from the NEA to support up to five jazz performances during the 2013-14 season by award-winning Cuban musicians at the College’s Williams Center for the Arts.

The competitive grant will also fund educational outreach activities associated with the performances.

Artists under consideration for the “Decoding the Cuban Jazz Genome” series include alto saxophonist and multiple Grammy-winner Paquito D’Rivera; Dafnis Prieto, a Cuban-American drummer and 2011 MacArthur Fellow; the three-time Grammy nominated music group Tiempo Libre; pianist and composer Fabian Almazan; and Grammy-winning jazz composer and pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

“We are very pleased the NEA has awarded this grant to Lafayette College to support the presentation of jazz,” said Williams Center Director Ellis Finger. “The NEA grant is the most competitive grant in the country. It reflects well on Lafayette that the NEA has once again bestowed upon us an award.”

This is the 12th consecutive year the college has received an NEA grant for musical performances.

Lafayette’s grant is one of 832 Art Works grants totaling $23.3 million in national funding that supports projects spanning 13 artistic disciplines and fields.

“These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences and exemplary education programs,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for NEA grant support, visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

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Image: Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College
Higher resolution photo available

Kathleen Parrish
Associate Director of Media Relations
Lafayette College
Communications Division
Easton, PA 18042
parrishk@lafayette.edu
www.lafayette.edu