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Blue Bear School of American Music was founded by a rock band in the early '70's. Why not teach Rock instead of Bach, the Blues instead of Beethoven? Including solid music theory courses along with professional mentoring, electric Band Workshops and Songwriting courses, Blue Bear continues to offer high quality popular music education at affordable prices to music lovers of all ages. Scholarships are awarded annually to promising talent ages 12-22, funded by contributions from individuals, music industry professionals and businesses. Blue Bear has an active outreach programs serving at-risk kids in the Bayview and Tenderloin districts and runs after-school music programs at over 15 sites in San Francisco. Our mission statement is: Empowering people to play the music they love!

TheatreWorks is one of America’s outstanding professional theatres. Our work celebrates the human spirit through innovative productions, new works, and education programs inspired by and engaging our diverse Silicon Valley community. TheatreWorks is an artistic community of excellence and integrity, committed to dramatic and musical theatre of outstanding professional quality. Embracing the creation of new works, the reinvigoration of the classics, and the arts education of new generations, our work exemplifies our region’s values of inclusion and innovation while providing a sense of place and community. The San Francisco Bay Area is the prototype of an evolving America of ever-increasing diversity. As we explore this changing world, our art must enhance the American theatre with new vision, revealing both who we are and what we might become.

Jeffrey Myers, first violinist of the Calidore String Quartet, makes his home in New York City. His chamber music career with the award winning Calidore String Quartet has established an international reputation for its informed, polished, and passionate performances. The quartet won the $100,000 Grand Prize at the inaugural 2016 M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition along with grand prizes in the Fischoff, Coleman, Chesapeake, and Yellow Springs competitions and captured top prizes at the 2012 ARD Munich International String Quartet Competition, and Hamburg International Chamber Music Competition. The CSQ is a recipient of a 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2017 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. The quartet was the first North American ensemble to win the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, and is currently in residence with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Bowers Program.

The mission of Pittsburgh CLO is the "celebration of musical theater." Pittsburgh CLO is a not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to the preservation, creation and promotion of the American musical theater art form, the furnishing of arts education, and the provision of outreach and meaningful community service opportunities for Western Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Since 1946, Pittsburgh CLO has been a critical regional resource, contributing to the cultural richness, economic vitality and arts education of our community. From its first years producing operettas at Pitt Stadium, it has grown to become a national leader in developing, producing and preserving the finest in musical theater. Through its current season of 95 performances at the Benedum and Byham Theaters, its 300 year-round performances at the CLO Cabaret at Theater Square, the CLO Academy of Musical Theater and its nine education and outreach programs, the CLO continues to touch the lives of more than 200,000 area residents each year.

The mission of the Pasadena Master Chorale is to cultivate appreciation of classical choral music through high quality performance and education. Founded by Jeffrey Bernstein in 2008, The Pasadena Master Chorale is an auditioned community chorus presenting affordable high-quality choral concerts and educational offerings to the greater Pasadena Community. In 2017 the Pasadena Master Chorale was awarded second place in the American Prize in Choral Performance. During its decade of service to the community PMC has presented over 100 performances and enjoyed collaborations with the The Gamble House, Pasadena Playhouse, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, and The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. PMC also offers a robust education program at no cost to participating students. Each year, through its unique Listening To The Future project, PMC pairs local high school composers with a professional composer mentor for a year of study. At the end of the year PMC presents a concert of the music composed by these students.

The Jazz Loft's mission is one of Jazz preservation, education, and performance, and has quickly become the premier destination for all things Jazz. Presenting a full performance calendar of local, national and international artists in our period 1940s second floor performance space the Loft also has an extensive education program. Our Pre College Jazz Institute in collaboration with Stony Brook University offers training in jazz theory, performance and masterclass settings to outstanding high school musicians. Our Young at Heart program offers music therapy presentations for those with memory loss and their caregivers. A monthly lecture series and scheduled family concerts round out our community outreach endeavors which are due in part to an outstanding team of sponsors and community leaders. The Jazz Lofts final mission point is that of preservation which is alive and well and on view 24/7 in our 6,000 square feet of original jazz memorabilia spanning 100 years of the American born art form celebrating not only the music, but art and photography as well throughout our many galleries.

Lumberyard, one of the nation's leading contemporary performing arts institutions, serves the performing arts community and its audiences by providing multi-faceted opportunities for artists to develop new work. Unwavering in its commitment to assisting artists throughout the creative process, Lumberyard operates with a collaborative and generous spirit, one driven by this support for artists and appreciation for the audiences who value their work. Lumberyard's history goes back to 1999 when, thanks to founder and benefactor Solange MacArthur, it began as American Dance Institute (ADI), a dance school based in Rockville, Maryland. In 2010, after looking closely at the challenges facing the American contemporary dance field, ADI changed course to focus on artist-centered programs that include residency and performance opportunities. This new direction resulted in what is now Lumberyard's stellar reputation for providing this much needed support, with the Incubator residency program, introduced in 2011, especially praised. Lumberyard also serves emerging artists through its Solange MacArthur Award and Future Artists Initiative. In summer 2016, Lumberyard responded to artists' requests for residencies to culminate with a New York City performance season by launching Lumberyard/NYC, an initiative undertaken in collaboration with New York City theater spaces, which, to this day, not only supports artists but also serves audiences who, at affordable ticket prices, have the chance to see a wide range of contemporary dance. Lumberyard will experience more exciting change in 2018 when it opens new facilities in a former lumberyard in Catskill New York, a town approximately two hours from New York City, positioned beautifully between the Hudson River and the Catskill Creek that was once the home of painter Thomas Cole, founder of the renowned Hudson River School. The renovation of the lumberyard, a four-building complex, will produce fabulous studios and housing, allowing Lumberyard to expand its mission of supporting artists throughout the creative process by being able to increase the number of residencies and performance opportunities available to them. The site will also include a state-of-the art performing arts space, certain to become a cultural destination for Catskill residents and for those traveling to the region. By taking ownership of this property, Lumberyard will connect audiences to some of the best and most provocative performances being created today, and the excitement of seeing works in preview before they premier in less intimate venues will extend beyond the stage to include receptions and talk backs with artists. Catskill residents will also benefit by access to a delightful courtyard that will host a farmers' market and other community events.

Mission: To create and produce professional theatre productions, programs and services of a national standard.Vision: Acknowledged as the national leader in serving a region through theatre.Core Values:We make a commitment to excellence. Our challenge is to demand from ourselves the highest level of achievement in all areas of the theatre. We will take risks for the opportunity to do something astonishing.We produce work that celebrates the human experience. The purpose and power of the theatrical event have always been to come together in the theatre and discover a new understanding of ourselves. As the cultural fabric of our community becomes more diverse, we must now learn about each other as well.We create art of a national standard. By developing new plays, re-imagining the classics and promoting innovation in all areas of the theatre, Geva will help shape the American Theatre of the twenty-first century.We dedicate ourselves to a collaborative art form. Artists, staff and patrons will always find a supportive home that values and nurtures imagination, exploration and trust.We serve our community through education and outreach. Our responsibility as a resident theatre means providing opportunities, both within and without our walls, for all residents of the Rochester region to learn about and to experience professional theatre.We achieve our mission in a fiscally responsible manner. Every artistic decision is a financial decision, and every financial decision is an artistic decision.

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company is a quest for a living theater, a theater whose "raison d'être" is the communion of actor and audience through poetry. To foster that communion, we have built the only Original Practice Playhouse®, The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse, at 499 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA. Using this space as a laboratory for the exploration of Elizabethan stagecraft and theatrical techniques, all of our work is guided by a single clarion principle that ASC reveres above all others: the voice of the playwright. This is true whether the company is presenting an original piece, an American classic, or a timeless masterpiece by William Shakespeare. In all cases, each production is a process that begins with the way each play was originally staged in its own time and ends with a modern audience experiencing the play in a manner consistent with its creator's original intent. Thus, when presenting plays by Shakespeare, ASC productions feature hand-made period costumes, all live music and sound effects, thrilling sword fights, and abundant "direct address" to the audience, all of which is orchestrated to assure that the passion and poetry of Shakespeare's genius remains at the heart of the theatrical experience. This is unlike "modern" approaches that routinely update, alter, deconstruct, or otherwise adapt the plays in the service of a 20th Century sensibility. This Core Aesthetic, known as Original Practice, informs and inspires all of our work.”

For some time now, we have been hearing cries of alarm about a ‘shortage’ of voices suited to opera’s dramatic repertoire, as if these voices are disappearing from the earth. It is certainly not the case that these voices do not exist in nature. They do. What is lacking in our fast-paced world is the time and the care and specifically tailored instruction at an early age that it takes to develop any natural voice into a healthy, expressive, and durable operatic instrument. These instruments when properly developed can last over a career of 40 years or more. This is particularly true of voices that have the potential to develop into the dramatic repertoire of Strauss, Wagner, and Verdi. Dolora Zajick’s Institute is distinguished by the principle of recognizing dramatic voices at an early age and offering them collaborative teaching and guidance by offering collaborative instruction and guidance from respected and experienced professionals who work in major opera houses and understand what these houses are really looking for in professional singers. Zajick’s own instrument took time and care to develop and it continues decades later to thrill audiences the world over. Passing on what she has learned over the course of her great career is now her guiding passion. Established in 2006, the Institute has an innovative approach. An impressively credentialed faculty works in close collaboration with the students and with each other to provide a solid foundation of skills. The program recognizes six levels of development: Opera Discovery (15–17), Introductory (18–22), Intermediate (18–26), Emerging Artists (24–34), Young Professionals (27–36), and the American Wagner Project (no age limit). Instruction is specifically tailored to the level of the singer, and at all levels the goal is to ‘get the whole voice rolling’ as Zajick says, as well as forming the whole singer and artist through a program of voice lessons, music fundamentals, Italian, German and English diction, acting, fitness, and professionalism. The program culminates in a final concert of opera scenes. Graduates of the Institute are already finding their place in the training programs and on the stages of the world’s opera houses. Faculty members are chosen for their expertise and experience in opera, but also for their understanding of the particular development of dramatic voices. All students will have the opportunity to receive private and class instruction from such notable professionals as Dolora Zajick, Luana DeVol, John Parr (Deutscheoper Berlin), Beatrice Benzi (la Scala), Marianne Barrett (Metropolitan Opera), Yelena Kurdina (Metropolitan Opera), Fabio Sparvoli, and John Treleaven.

The mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for Jazz through performance, education and advocacy. We believe Jazz is a metaphor for Democracy. Because jazz is improvisational, it celebrates personal freedom and encourages individual expression. Because jazz is swinging, it dedicates that freedom to finding and maintaining common ground with others. Because jazz is rooted in the blues, it inspires us to face adversity with persistent optimism.From our first downbeat as a summer concert series at Lincoln Center in 1987, to the fully orchestrated achievement of opening the world's first venue designed specifically for jazz in 2004, we have celebrated this music and these landmarks with an ever-growing audience of jazz fans from around the world.Representing the totality of jazz music, Jazz at Lincoln Center's mission is carried out through four elements—educational, curatorial, archival, and ceremonial—capturing, in unparalleled scope, the full spectrum of the jazz experience.In the mid-1980s, Lincoln Center, Inc. was looking to expand its programming efforts to attract new and younger audiences, and to fill its halls during the summer months when resident companies were performing elsewhere. Long-time jazz enthusiasts on the Lincoln Center campus and on the Lincoln Center Board recognized the need for America's music to be represented, and lobbied to include jazz in the organization's offerings. After four summers of successful Classical Jazz concerts, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) became an official department of Lincoln Center in 1991. During its first year, JALC produced concerts throughout New York City, including Brooklyn and Harlem. By the second year, JALC had its own radio series on National Public Radio, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (now known as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) began touring, and recording and selling CDs. By its fourth year, the program reached international audiences with performances in Hong Kong and, the following year, in France, Austria, Italy, Turkey, Norway, Spain, England, Germany and Finland. In July 1996, JALC was inducted as the first new constituent of Lincoln Center since The School of American Ballet joined in 1987, laying the groundwork for the building of a performance facility designed specifically for the sound, function and feeling of jazz.“The whole space is dedicated to the feeling of swing, which is a feeling of extreme coordination," explained Jazz at Lincoln Center's Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis of his vision for the new home of jazz, or the “House of Swing." “Everything is integrated: the relationship between one space and another, the relationship between the audience and the musicians, is one fluid motion, because that's how our music is." Under Marsalis's direction, JALC sought out world-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly and a team of acoustic engineers to create Frederick P. Rose Hall, the world's first performance, education and broadcast facility devoted to jazz, in New York City. As the centerpiece of a $131 million capital campaign drive, the 100,000-square-foot facility opened in fall 2004 and features three concert and performance spaces (Rose Theater, The Appel Room and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola) engineered for the warmth and clarity of the sound of jazz.

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. It has a worldwide reputation for producing daring work in theatre, dance, performance art, and music that defies form and transcends boundaries of language, race, and culture. Founded in 1961 by theatre pioneer and legend Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is a vital part of the fabric of cultural life in NYC and the anchor of FAB (Fourth Arts Block). In the 1960's, Ms. Stewart, one of the first black fashion designers in New York, worked as the executive designer for Saks Fifth Avenue and was undoubtedly a trendsetter. She began La MaMa with the belief that art, in order to flourish, needs: fiscal support, the company of colleagues, the spirit of collaboration and a public forum in which to be evaluated. The original house of La MaMa sat 30 people, and the stage was the size of a bed. Today, La MaMa is a four-building campus with three theaters, an art gallery, an art and technology studio, rehearsal studios, a dormitory, offices, and an extensive archive documenting the history of Off-Off-Broadway. La MaMa produces approximately 70 productions annually, most of which are world premieres. To date, more than 3,500 productions have been presented at La MaMa with 150,000 artists from more than 70 nations. La MaMa's programming is culturally diverse, cross-disciplinary and draws audiences from all walks of life. In addition to affordable ticket prices, La MaMa distributes up to 8,000 free tickets annually to social service and education organizations. Annual visitors exceed 32,000 people from New York and beyond. Each year, La MaMa provides employment opportunities for more than 260 artists and administrators including performers, writers, composers, directors, choreographers, musicians, designers and educators. La MaMa is a think tank and an experimental forum where artists at various stages of their career and creative development come to take risks. Much of the work done here allows the artistic experimenter to take the lessons learned and capitalize on them elsewhere, thus influencing much of what is eventually seen in commercial theater and the entertainment industry at large. In addition, La MaMa provides people of all ages and backgrounds with an opportunity to explore the arts in various capacities - as a member of the audience, the creative team, production crew or cast. "A home to, and champion of, brash and venturesome artists!" - New York Times Countless American artists have worked at La MaMa during the early stages of their careers, including: Blue Man Group, Steve Buscemi, Robert DeNiro, Andre DeShields, Danny DeVito, Olympia Dukakis, Harvey Fierstein, Philip Glass, Bill Irwin, Diane Lane, Bette Midler, Meredith Monk, Estelle Parsons, Sam Shepard, Patti Smith, Elizabeth Swados, Julie Taymor, Andy Warhol, Lanford Wilson, Robert Wilson, Scott Wittman and Joel Zwick. New Eastern European Theatre was introduced to America in 1967 when La MaMa brought Ryszard Cieslak, Ludwig Flaszen, and Jerry Grotowski to New York. Other international artists whose work premiered at La MaMa include Ivica Buljan, Peter Brooke, Tadeusz Kantor, Kazuo Ohno, Andrei Serban, Shuji Teriyama, and Ahmed Yacoubi. La MaMa has received more than 30 Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk and Bessie Awards. Recent significant premieres include: The Foundry Theatre's GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN; Belarus Free Theatre's BEING HAROLD PINTER (Obie Award); Lee Breuer's LA DIVINA CARICATURA; and SOULOGRAPHIE: OUR GENOCIDES by Eric Ehn.