The Presser Foundation Announces New Staff & 75th Anniversary Grants

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Jul 10, 2014, 01:10 ET

PHILADELPHIA, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Presser Foundation announces the retirement of Executive Director Mariel Frank on June 30, 2014, after a 30-year tenure of outstanding service to the Foundation and the musical community it supports.

The Foundation appointed Teresa Araco Rodgers as the new executive of the Foundation starting July 1. Rodgers, who earned a Master's Degree and a Certificate in Nonprofit Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, has been working with the Foundation for the past two years. She will be assisted by Janine Baschoff, a non-profit veteran with a special interest in financial management and planning, who will assume the role of Grants Manager.

The Foundation also announced a one-time round of grants totaling $350,000 for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons in celebration of the Foundation's 75^th Anniversary for special programs celebrating and highlighting the role of Philadelphia-born or based composers and performers in the development of American concert music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In addition, the Foundation is soliciting proposals for a full-length research article on the life & work of Theodore Presser, due October 1, 2014.

The Presser Foundation was established in 1939 under the Deeds of Trust and Will of the late Theodore Presser. It is one of the few private foundations in the United States dedicated solely to music education and music philanthropy. The Presser Foundation supports music performance and education through undergraduate and graduate scholar awards, operating and program support for music organizations, capital grants for music building projects, and assistance to retired music teachers. Much of the grant making focus of the Foundation is on organizations and institutions in the 100-mile radius surrounding Center City Philadelphia.

75th Anniversary Grants
Choral Arts Philadelphia – The O Antiphons: A Philadelphia Composer "Songbook" (2014-15)
counter)induction – Listening In: George Crumb at 85 (2014-15)
Curtis Institute of Music – Jennifer Higdon Viola Concerto Commission (2014-15)
LiveConnections – The New Sound of Philadelphia: Boundary Crossing World Premieres By Philly Composers for Philly Artists (2014-16)
Lyric Fest – Composer in Residence Program (2014-15)
Network for New Music – Vincent Persichetti Centennial (2014-15)
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra – PYO's Diamond Jubilee Concert Dedicated to The Presser Foundation for its 75^th Anniversary (2014-15)
PRISM Quartet, Inc. – Philadelphia Story (2014-16)
Sister Cities Girlchoir – Marian Anderson Tribute Concert (2014-15)
Symphony In C & Astral Artists – Beyond Barber: Composing Philadelphia (2015-16)
The Philadelphia Orchestra – Philadelphia Commission II Micro-Festival (2015-16)