MENLO PARK, Calif. – The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announced that it is awarding $3,918,500 in grants to 37 Bay Area arts organizations. The latest round of grants is aimed at supporting organizations that provide an extensive array of musical experiences to local audiences.

“The Hewlett Foundation believes that the arts are an integral part of a community’s health and well-being,” said Performing Arts Program Director Moy Eng. “Communities throughout the Bay Area have been hit hard by the economic downturn, and these latest grants will help keep music available at a time when many arts budgets have been slashed.”

“I am thrilled to hear of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s generous award to Bay Area arts organizations,” said Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, who represents the 24th Assembly District of California, and who serves on the California Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media. “The arts are the voice of our souls. Without them we would be less as human beings in ways of immeasurable significance. In these difficult economic times it is particularly heart warming to see such a serious commitment to the arts.”

The Hewlett Foundation Performing Arts Program has supported a wide variety of award-winning work. Most recently, a piece commissioned by the San Francisco-based group Other Minds, whose grant was renewed this spring, won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Music, for its piece, “Ice Field,” by Henry Brandt.

The Hewlett Foundation awards grants four times a year. In 2003, total gifts and grants made by the Foundation exceeded $258 million.

Alameda County

Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA – $15,000
Ashkenaz presents music as diverse as Balkan, Canjun, African highlife, Afro beat, blues, Eastern European folk music, reggae, salsa, bluegrass, and ska.
Cazadero Performing Arts Camp, Berkeley, CA – $90,000
Cazadero Performing Arts Camp serves more than 1,400 youth and family members from throughout Northern California, who participate in its large performance curriculum.
Crosspulse, Berkeley, CA – $30,000
Crosspulse incorporates unique combinations and new interpretations of culturally specific and traditional music and dance.
Fremont Symphony, Fremont, CA – $82,500
The Fremont Symphony is the only professional orchestra and largest arts nonprofit organization serving southern Alameda County.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Oakland, CA – $80,000
The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is a multiracial, interfaith ensemble comprised of sixty-five vocalists and five musicians dedicated to performing Black gospel music.
Oakland Youth Chorus, Oakland, CA – $115,000
The Oakland Youth Chorus is a successful combination of quality music training and youth development, specializing in multicultural music.
Pacific Chamber Symphony, San Leandro, CA – $50,000
The Pacific Chamber Symphony presents a five-concert series in four cities: San Francisco, Pleasanton, Hayward, and Walnut Creek.
Rhythmic Concepts, Oakland, CA – $75,000
Rhythmic Concepts has been dedicated to the appreciation and presentation of jazz music and is the only organization of its kind serving Oakland and the East Bay.
San Francisco Early Music Society, Berkeley, CA – $90,000
The San Francisco Early Music Society presents historically informed performances of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music.
Alameda County Total Grants – $627,500

Contra Costa County

California Symphony Orchestra, Pleasant Hill, CA – $210,000
The California Symphony Orchestra is the only professional orchestra in Contra Costa County and performs annually for an audience of 9,000.
Los Centzontles Mexican Arts Center, San Pablo, CA – $ 75,000
The Center provides affordable opportunities for local youth to learn authentic Mexican music and dance.
Contra Costa County Total Grants – $285,000

Humboldt County

Humboldt Area Foundation, Bayside, CA – $200,000
The Humboldt Area Foundation provides support for the preservation of the traditional arts and culture of Northern California’s indigenous communities through its Native Cultures Fund.
Humboldt County Total Grants – $200,000

Marin County

Ali Akbar College of Music, San Rafael, CA – $135,000
Ali Akbar College of Music is the largest and oldest school of traditional Indian music in Northern California.
Bernard Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, San Rafael, CA – $120,000
The Bernard Osher Marin Jewish Community Center presents music, performing arts, and films.
Dance Palace, Point Reyes Station, CA – $48,000
Dance Palace is an active community center which features a performing arts program serving West Marin County.
San Domenico School/Virtuoso Program, San Anselmo, CA – $120,000
San Domenico School/Virtuoso Program is a preprofessional training program for young female musicians, who receive merit scholarships, rigorous coaching, and academic support.
Marin County Total Grants – $423,000

Monterey County

Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA – $165,000
Monterey Jazz Festival is the longest running summer jazz festival in the world.
Monterey Count Total Grants – $165,000
San Francisco
California Council for the Humanities  – $25,000
The California Council for the Humanties is engaged in the development of cultural policy in California.
Earplay – $22,000
Earplay is a chamber ensemble that commissions and performs new music by composers of regional, national, and international renown.
Grace Cathedral – $15,000
Grace Cathedral offers diverse musical programming by local and national artists.
Martha Jenkins Dance Company – $156,000
The Martha Jenkins Dance Company received a grant in support of expenses associated with moving to a new studio.
Paul Dresher Ensemble/Musical Traditions –  $150,000
The Paul Dresher Ensemble/Musical Traditions is one of the leading U.S. companies in producing new opera and musical theatre, and one of the few that tours such works.
New Century Chamber Orchestra – $135,000
New Century Chamber Orchestra was founded by musicians looking for a fresh ways to present classical music.
Noontime Concerts  – $20,000
Noontime Concerts presents low-cost classical music concerts during the weekday lunch hour at two San Francisco Financial District venues.
Other Minds – $165,000
Other Minds presents contemporary music through an annual festival, Internet programming, and related activities.
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra – $150,000
The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, winner of the prestigious Gramophone Award, is the largest period-instrument ensemble in the U.S.
San Francisco Girls Chorus – $165,000
The San Francisco Girls Chorus has set the national standard for vocal music education for girls and young women and is one of the preeminent girl choruses nationwide.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts – $100,000
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is a multidisciplinary arts complex that features diverse, community-based contemporary arts and culture.
San Francisco Total Grants – $1,103,000

Santa Clara County

Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Palo Alto, CA – $90,000
The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra is the region’s premier training orchestra for students in 3rd through 12th grades.
San Jose Jazz Society, San Jose, CA – $45,000
The San Jose Jazz Society presents the annual San Jose Jazz Festival, the largest free jazz festival in the world.
San Jose Taiko, San Jose, CA – $ 15,000
San Jose Taiko merges Asian and Asian-American traditions to create a unique form of taiko, the ancient Japanese art from of drumming.
Stanford Jazz Workshop, Stanford, CA – $135,000
The Stanford Jazz Workshop was founded as a student-run summer forum, where jazz professionals and students could share ideas, techniques and play together informally.
Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford, CA – $225,000
The Stanford Lively Arts presents national and international touring artists in music and dance.
Villa Montalvo, Saratoga, CA – $315,000
Villa Montalvo presents performing arts, visual arts, and artist residencies for the Peninsula and South Bay.
Santa Clara Count Total Grants – $825,000

Santa Cruz County

Cabrillo Music Festival, Santa Cruz, CA – $ 50,000
The Cabrillo Music Festival is America’s longest running new music festival dedicated to orchestra.
Santa Cruz County Total Grants – $50,000

Sonoma County

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Santa Rose, CA – $75,000
The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts is the largest arts organization in the San Francisco North Bay region, annually serving more than 50,000 people.
Santa Rosa Symphony, Santa Rosa, CA – $165,000
The Santa Rosa Symphony is the largest and oldest performing arts organization in Sonoma County.
Sonoma County Total Grants – $240,000

The Performing Arts Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is founded on the premise that the experience, understanding, and appreciation of artistic expression give value, meaning, and enjoyment to people’s lives. Its mission is to support artistic expression and its enjoyment through grantmaking aimed at supporting high-quality, high performing San Francisco Bay Area organizations and to achieve this through the following broad objectives:

Stimulating increased access to and participation in the arts
Increasing exposure to and understanding of diverse cultural expressions
Enhancing opportunities for creative expression for both artists and audiences
Promoting long-term organizational health

About The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, has been making grants since 1966 to help solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. The Foundation concentrates its resources on activities in conflict resolution, education, environment, performing arts, population, and U.S.-Latin American relations.  In addition, the Foundation has initiatives supporting neighborhood improvement, philanthropy, and global affairs.