Earplay

Earplay commissions and performs new chamber music works, championing emerging and mid-career composers. Each year, the ensemble presents a home concert series of three performances, hosts an international competition for new music compositions, and commissions and records works by composers from throughout the world. Building upon a recent, successful collaboration with a renowned Bay Area theater company, Earplay plans to pursue ongoing collaborations with theater and dance organizations, alongside its annual concert season. With renewed funding, Earplay would continue to offer its suite of programs for composers and audiences, test new approaches to earned income generation and individual donor cultivation, and complete a search for new administrative leadership upon the planned departure this year of its executive director.

Earplay is dedicated to nurturing new chamber music. Through concerts, commissions, and recordings, Earplay connects audiences, performers, and composers. Each year, the organization offers a home season of five or more concerts for audiences of more than 800. The majority of works performed by Earplay are premieres, and the organization regularly presents works representing a variety of esthetics and traditions. Through composer prizes, artist talks, and performance opportunities, the organization provides professional opportunities for musicians and composers. This grant to Earplay supports the Performing Arts Program’s Continuity and Engagement strategy, through the Innovative Works component.