.png)
IN THIS UPDATE:
FIRST ROUND GRANTS - IMPACT
We are delighted to report that projects in September included six live concerts with an audience, three filmed concerts, an opera recording and an entrancing film from Palisander which was streamed via OnJam with online workshops for amateur recorder players. The figures so far:
£140,500 disbursed to 22 ensembles*
345 musicians engaged since April 2021
*Spiritato’s project with The Marian Consort was rescheduled for 26/28th October, and the Consone Quartet and Joglaresa have the final concerts in their series in October and November.
Please read on for highlights from September projects. In the meantime, we wish to share some feedback from our first round grantees:
“Your support is the catalyst that has allowed us to grow our projects into much more meaningful music making, help it to reach so many more people, and it has given us such a feeling of purpose and belonging even when so much is uncertain!” - Ensemble Augelletti
“We are in an incomparably better place than we might have been without the grant: excellent press, renewed interest from our patrons, new repertoire for quartet and experience of giving great concerts in our new quartet formation. It is difficult to find adequate words to express our gratitude to Continuo Foundation.” - Fontanella Recorder Quartet
GRANT ROUND TWO AWARDS ANNOUNCED!
The Round 2 Grant awards were announced on 21st September 2021. We were able to provide over £100,000 in support to 23 projects from 14 ensembles who were new to Continuo Foundation grants and 9 who had received a Round 1 Grant as well. In aggregate, these 23 projects require 488 musicians, bringing the total musician engagements for our 2021 grants to 865.
Demand for support remains high amid continued cancellations and a slower-than-expected return of audiences, and we were disappointed to have to turn down almost 40 applicants, many of whom had strong projects which we would have supported if we had more funds available. Nonetheless, we are delighted to now have 37 grantee ensembles in our growing Continuo community!
We received many lovely messages from our new grantee ensembles, including this one:
“I can’t tell you how much this has lifted our spirits in these extremely uncertain times, and how exciting it is to be able to communicate this news to our partner promoters across the country. Continuo Foundation is a truly extraordinary initiative, and I know I am not alone in the early music community in wishing to extend my deepest gratitude and admiration for what you are doing.” - Robin Bigwood, Passacaglia Trio
LOOKING AHEAD – GRANTS IN 2022 AND 2023
Based on our experience in 2021, we believe that two rounds of at least £100-150,000 per year will allow us to provide much needed support for musicians and ensembles, and to help grow their UK touring activity.
We will have maximum impact if we are able to plan ahead for these two rounds and launch them on predictable dates – January and July of 2022 and 2023.
Two types of donation have been crucial to establishing Continuo and to our recent growth - single donations and multi-year donations. Most donations are single and they have been our bedrock and remain crucial to what we will achieve in the coming years.
Multi-year donations are important as they allow us to plan ahead and achieve more. Over the coming months we are going to work hard to see if we can increase the number of multi-year donations so that they are a material proportion of the funding required for 2022 and 2023.
More multi-year commitments will allow us to be more efficient and effective i.e. plan earlier and spend more time on work that is focused on the musicians and ensembles, and ultimately lead to more of the strong projects we assess being supported. It would also allow us to collaborate with other arts funders with endowments, who could increase their impact at no cost by Continuo sharing the benefits of our expert Advisory Panel and proven evaluation process.
Whether you are considering a single or a multi-year donation, Tina would love to hear from you on tina@continuofoundation.co.uk.
SEPTEMBER PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Ensemble Hesperi – ‘From Caledonia to the Capital’
Ensemble Hesperi gave a concert at St Mary-le-Bow Church in London with an expanded group of musicians, exploring chamber music and song by Scottish 18th century composers. The concert was also filmed, so please stay tuned for the streaming date...
Linarol Consort of Viols – Josquin 500 Festival
The Linarol Consort gave their final 'Josquin 500' concert – a solo lute recital by Jacob Heringman in Leominster Priory. All festival performances are available to watch until 31st October - tickets here.
Palisander – ‘Double, Double, Toil and Trouble’
Palisander created a very atmospheric film, with Cinelight London, exploring the intrinsic links between magic and music over the centuries. Featured composers included Hildegard von Bingen, Dowland, JS Bach and Tartini.