Gabriela Lena Frank awarded Mentorship Artist Grant
1st February 2018
Mestiza Music for String Quartet and Native Andean Instruments
This year’s NFA Mentorship Artist Grant supports composer Gabriela Lena Frank and mentee Marco-Adrián Ramos in the creation of two major piano four-hand suites exploring Latin American identity for the Grammy-nominated ensemble ZOFO. Frank and Ramos will draw on their respective Peruvian and Mexican heritages to enrich a repertoire that is historically Eurocentric through an exploration of Latin American folk song narratives and instrumental techniques. The mentorship will evolve through an apprenticehip model including: civic engagement; shared classroom instruction in music composition at the rural Anderson Valley High School in Boonville, CA; and full participation in the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, a non-profit non-academic training institution providing short-residency practicums to diverse emerging composers with an additional focus on professional development. In 2018, ZOFO will be a featured guest ensemble at the Academy.
The NALAC Fund for the Arts is a highly-competitive grant program open to Latinx artists, ensembles, and Latinx arts organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico. ('Latinx' is a gender-neutral term increasingly used in lieu of Latino or Latina). For this 12th funding cycle, upwards of 300 applications were reviewed via a national peerreview panel process evaluating artistic merit, funding impact, and capability.
'Our newest NALAC Fund for the Arts grantees represent the possibilities of a more equitable future for Latinx people in the United States', said NALAC President & CEO María López de León. 'NALAC is committed to directly supporting artists who continue to create new work amplifying the stories of our diverse communities and identities. Likewise, we champion and advocate for Latino arts organizations that create safe spaces for expression in these uncertain times'.
