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GRANT ROUND 6 AWARDS

We were delighted to announce the twenty-five ensembles selected to receive the £100,000 raised from Continuo's donors for Grant Round Six. The competition was particularly strong in this latest round of 58 applications received.

The projects ranked by our expert Advisory Panel in the highest category of artistic merit alone saw aggregate funding requests of £228k, with the amount requested in all categories exceeding £300k.

Of the 25 high-quality, imaginative projects being supported by our grants, eight are being created by recently-formed ensembles. 40% of available funds was awarded to these groups, double the previous allocation in Grant Rounds 3 to 5. 

The Round Six grants will support 67 performances and recordings between October 2023 and the end of March 2024, in 50 locations across the UK. This will bring the total number of communities benefiting from Continuo-supported performances to over 150. 

Since Continuo was founded in September 2020, the total support provided for UK early music projects amounts to £650,000, awarded to 85 ensembles. 
 
The 25 recipients of Grant Round Six awards were:

Arculo Consort of Viols - Baroque in the North - Brook Street Band - Cambridge Handel Opera Company - Chelys Consort of Viols - Consone Quartet - Dunedin Consort - Early Opera Company - Endelienta Baroque - Ensemble Augelletti - Ensemble Molière - Figure - Illyria Consort - La Serenissima - Le Foyer des Artistes - Linarol Consort of Viols - Liturina -Manchester Baroque - Monteverdi String Band - Obligato - Rautio Piano Trio - Sakuntala Trio - Solomon’s Knot - Sounds Historical -Spinacino Consort.
 
Full details of the latest grant recipients and their projects can be viewed by clicking the button below.
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APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants were invited to request amounts ranging from £2,000 to £8,000 to support UK projects scheduled to take place between October 2023 and March 2024. For recently formed ensembles (formed ca. June 2020 - June 2023), live concerts or tours were preferred to recordings. 
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For example, grant proceeds could be used by a period-instrument ensemble to:
 
  • provide funding to enable a concert at risk of being downsized for economic reasons 
  • fund a creative project where there is uncertainty about audience take-up
  • tour a new or existing programme to audiences in new locations
  • contribute funding toward the recording of unknown repertoire 
  • create filmed concert material to be used to generate further touring opportunities
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Grant requests could be for up to a maximum of 90% of the Project Cost. Applicants were asked to provide a credible plan for the balance of the funding required for the project.

SELECTION CRITERIA

ELIGIBILITY
Eligible ensembles were UK-based professional groups of at least three musicians playing period instruments, or faithful replicas, with a consistent membership of instrumentalists, year-round activity and an identity as a period-instrument ensemble.

Proposed projects could include vocalists, or be collaborations with vocal ensembles, as long as the grant applicant was an instrumental ensemble meeting the description above. Projects may also include new works commissioned for period instruments or combine early and contemporary repertoires in their programmes.

Existing Continuo Foundation grantees are eligible to apply provided they are in compliance with the terms of their grants.
EVALUATION
The main objective of our grants is to enable projects of outstanding artistic merit to proceed, creating work for freelance musicians, and bringing the joy of live music to audiences across the UK, engaging and inspiring people and enriching communities. The key criteria for assessing applications were:
 
  • the artistic merit and originality of the proposed project; 
  • the number of instrumentalists engaged and the proportion of the grant funds dedicated to artists’ fees;
  • the extent to which new live or virtual audiences would be engaged; and
  • for recently-formed ensembles, the extent to which the project proposed is realistic and will contribute to building careers, establishing the group's credentials and developing relationships with promoters and audiences.  
 
In choosing which projects to support, in addition to the considerations above, there was an assessment of the artistic excellence and recent activity of each ensemble. For the avoidance of doubt, ensembles did not need to meet all of the criteria below; the list is designed to give a sense of the areas looked at by the Advisory Panel and Trustees in their decision-making. These included: 
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  • public performances since 2021, including those cancelled due to Covid-19
  • critically acclaimed recordings (including CDs, broadcasts, videos, etc.) since 2021
  • support of early-career instrumentalists and vocalists 
  • innovative programming, including works by diverse composers 
  • diversity of performers and administrators 
  • involvement in outreach and education projects 
  • whether the ensemble is a UK registered charity 
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The Trustees also considered the quality of the application itself, as we believe this is a reflection of the ensemble's ability to carry out the project to a high standard.
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RECENTLY FORMED ENSEMBLES - EVALUATION CRITERIA
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For ensembles formed between ca. June 2020 and June 2023, the Advisory Panel considered the areas set out below:
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  • evidence of public performances (including any that were cancelled) 
  • background information on the musicians comprising the ensemble
  • the rationale for the formation of the group 
  • repertoire being explored, aspirations, etc.
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The applicants in this category were asked to submit a 10-minute, unedited video of the ensemble performing together. This could have been an extract from a live-streamed concert, or part of a performance filmed on a smart phone. If there is no film footage from performances, a video from a rehearsal was acceptable. The video did not need to be professionally filmed - it is the quality of the ensemble playing, not the quality of the video, which counts. 
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NB - In order to be eligible, an ensemble must have had at least one public performance before 30 June 2023. The ensemble should also demonstrate the intention to have a lasting presence, rather than gathering for a one-off project. 
CRITERIA
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