Star Carol

Royal Albert Hall, London, sing along – Songs of Praise Big Sing, 2010

 

Arlington National Cemetery

As 2014 comes to a close

During the last month I have been researching my families history and putting together the pieces. Yesterday we spent some time at Arlington National Cemetery and it provided a moment to pause and reflect. To the thousands who have served our country to provide us with the many freedoms we enjoy each day, I give thanks!

The Nite Show Maine

Familiar faces (2012) – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”

Every year, David Letterman welcomes Darlene Love to his show to sing her timeless holiday classic, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” with the CBS Orchestra. For the 3rd year in a row, Anna Roman has joined the Jump City Jazz Band for a holiday tune on the Nite Show Performance Series brought to you by Cross Insurance. This year Anna and the Jump City Jazz Band are joined by The Opus Trio on strings, David Clarke on guitar, Emma Stanley on trumpet, Sonja Hennington on saxophone, Jim Winters on trombone, Dan Barrett on trombone, and singers Susan Patten, Allison Cottrel, Cady Bachelder, and Abby Hennington to bring you this Nite Show Web Exclusive of Darlene Love’s classic “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”. Catch FULL episodes of The Nite Show with Danny Cashman Saturday nights at 11:30 on WABI TV 5 in Bangor and Saturday nights at 10 on WPXT, the CW, in Portland!

Pentatonix

White Winter Hymnal

U.S. Air Force Band at Smithsonian

One year ago, flash mob with style

Starting with a single cellist on the floor of the National Air and Space Museum’s “Milestones of Flight” gallery, and swelling to 120 musicians, The U.S. Air Force Band exhilarated museum visitors with its first-ever flash mob. The four-minute performance featured an original arrangement of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring/Joy to the World,” led by the band’s commander and conductor, Col. Larry H. Lang. Unsuspecting museum visitors including tourists and school groups were astonished as instrumentalists streamed into the gallery from behind airplanes and space capsules, and vocalists burst into song from the Museum’s second floor balcony.

I wonder how many seeds were planted in the minds of the children visiting the museum on that day?! My favorite part was the trumpets bursting with sound from the balcony.

Hallelujah Chorus

My favorite song from the high school choir that I sang in

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Jimmy Fallon, Mariah Carey & The Roots

Instrument list

Jimmy Fallon – wood block, tambourine, bass drum, kazoo
Mariah Carey – vocals
Questlove – wooden clacker w/ afro pick
Mark Kelley – Fisher Price xylophone
Kamal Gray – recorder
James Poyser – melodica
Captain Kirk – ukulele
Tuba Gooding Jr. – kazoo
Frank Knuckles – bongos
Black Thought – sleigh bells

Angels

 “Angels We Have Heard on High” by Home Free

Carol of the Bells

Straight No Chaser

May your day be filled with the sweet music, delicious smells, vivid images, joyous laughter, hope, and peace of the season. My warmest wishes are sent to you this morning on Christmas day, 2014. Wishing all my friends and colleagues near and far a day spent close to all that you love. Wherever you are, if there is no snow outside your window and you wish there was, you can visit the Maine Arts Education blog for snow for a few more days.

 

Funding Opportunity

National Endowment for the Arts 2015 Funding Guidelines

CONTACT: Victoria Hutter, hutterv@arts.gov, 202-682-5692

Arts Works and Challenge America have February, April, and July 2015 deadlines

Washington, DC—Guidelines and application materials for two National Endowment for the Arts funding categories have been posted on the NEA’s website. The 2015 Art Works and Challenge America programs support projects anticipated to take place beginning in 2016. Any non-profit 501(c)3 organization, unit of state or local government, or federally recognized tribal community with at least a three year programming history is eligible to apply for project-based support through these two programs. Together, Art Works and Challenge America constitute approximately 75 percent of the NEA’s annual direct grantmaking (exclusive of state and regional partnership agreements).

CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS
Art Works is the NEA’s largest funding category, supporting the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. Matching grants generally range from $10,000 to $100,000.  In fiscal year 2014, the NEA supported 1799 grants totaling $49.4 million through Art Works. The deadlines for Art Works applications are February 19 and July 23, 2015 depending on the artistic discipline and/or type of project for which an organization seeks support.

Challenge America offers support primarily to small and mid-sized organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations—those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. In fiscal year 2014, Challenge America funded 147 grants totaling $1.47 million. The deadline for Challenge America is April 16, 2015.

Guidelines and application materials are in the Apply for a Grant section of the NEA website.

PAST ART WORKS AND CHALLENGE AMERICA GRANTS
To see the kinds of projects supported through these two categories, go to the Recent Grants section of the NEA website.

WEBINARS: SIGN UP AND ARCHIVES
In order to offer potential applicants the highest level of technical assistance, the NEA has scheduled webinars covering the basics of the Art Works and Challenge America funding categories, including how to apply to the NEA, how to select work samples, and how to prepare a strong application. After each presentation, there will be time for Q and A with NEA staff.

The Art Works webinar is scheduled for January 21, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The Challenge America session will be on March 11, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. ET. To sign up for either or both webinars, go to the webinar section of the NEA website.

Both webinars will be archived shortly after each event and posted on the NEA website in the webinar section.

About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $5 billion to strengthen the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at www.arts.gov.