Elevating Choral Music and Creativity through Alfred Nash Patterson Grants
About Choral Arts New England
Choral Arts New England was formed in 1980 as a memorial to Alfred Nash “Bud” Patterson, an inspiring cultural leader, mentor and model for singers, conductors and composers.
Alfred Nash Patterson Grants have been awarded continuously since 1985. These grants support choral music in New England and can be awarded to New England choruses, both volunteer and professional; parent organizations of New England choruses; and New England organizations that provide support to choral music. Grants encourage adventurous programming and broaden repertory; support music education and the training of young choral singers; encourage collaboration and festivals; and strengthen choruses throughout the region, from the heart of the city to remote country towns.
Choral Arts New England’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award is being made to Dr. Daniel F. Perkins, music director, conductor, professor of music, advocate for new music and educator.
Choral Arts New England will honor Dr. Daniel Perkins and the Alfred Nash Patterson Grantees at an awards ceremony to be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at:
Brookside Congregational Church
2013 Elm Street
Manchester, NH 03104
Reception to follow
Please join us to honor Dr. Perkins, the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, and the 13 recipients of 2023 Alfred Nash Patterson grants. These represent tremendous breadth and depth of musical accomplishment, innovation, and exploration. We are delighted to honor them and hope you can join us.
Choral Arts New England is delighted to announce the funding of 13 project grants totaling $25,000, which exceeds our previous highest award total of $23,500 in the 2022 cycle. Award recipients represent choral organizations across New England, including from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, and were chosen out of 42 applications.
Award recipients will be honored at our grant ceremony in the fall of 2023, and the projects are described below from excerpts of the applications. In addition, the name of the grant, if applicable, is listed next to the recipient’s name.
Congratulations to all our awardees, and please stay tuned for our next application cycle to open for 2024!
As it marks its 40th year of supporting New England choruses, Choral Arts New England is launching a two-year campaign to double its grant-making endowment. Founded in 1980 as the Alfred Nash Patterson Foundation, the organization has built an endowment of more than $300,000; to date, its annual grants program has given more than 260 grants, totaling over $330,000, to support choral singing in the six New England states. Grants have helped create new choruses, reinvigorated long-established choruses, and supported transformative experiences for choral singers, their audiences, and their communities. While funds available for grants have remained steady for over a decade, both the number of high-quality proposals and the amount requested have more than doubled in that time. The New England choral community has greatly expanded over the decades, and choruses in today’s world—our communities' voices—play a unique role in building community and giving inspiration.
The Choral Arts New England chorus calendar is now listing online events (webcasts, virtual concerts, webinars) that are of interest to the choral community. To list your event, use the online form and put the event link in the "Location/Address" box; you may leave the city/state/Zip fields blank. Events must take place at a certain date and time (since this is a calendar), but need not list a physical location.
Singing in a choir is such a moving experience—just the noise that you make, and the camaraderie. There's so much beautiful choral music around, and just being part of a group of people who love to do that gives you that fire in your belly to want to do more.
—Elton John, 2019