Five Years, Five Reflections - New Music USA (original) (raw)
I recently reached the fifth anniversary of my move from London to New York to become the President & CEO of New Music USA. Time has flown! This milestone has inspired me to reflect on what we have learned as an organization since I arrived in 2019; a transformative period that included seven months of pre-pandemic “normalcy” followed by global disruption, profound loss, and a sense of urgency across our community to imagine an alternative future for artists and arts workers in a reconfigured social and economic environment. In the face of uncertainty, hope, and renewal, we leaned into our values of imagination, connectivity, innovation, and belonging to grow our resources and build the groundwork for a slate of new opportunities. Here are five reflections that have informed my half-decade at New Music USA:
Vanessa Reed moderating a panel at Ravinia’s Breaking Barriers Festival with Marin Alsop, Clarice Assad, Gabriela Ortiz, and Kori Coleman. Photo c/o Ravinia.
Artists and music creators are our most visionary leaders.
The design of the new programs I’ve facilitated at New Music USA have been driven by music creators’ lived experiences and I’ve been inspired by the extraordinary impact this has had on the way we support new music in all its forms. By co-creating our Next Jazz Legacy program with NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington and working with composer Reena Esmail as our first Artist Board Chair, we’ve adopted new perspectives and ways of working that have extended our reach and understanding of our community’s needs.
In some cases, artists inspired us to do things we had never done before. Our delivery of the New Music Solidarity Fund, which was spearheaded by Claire Chase, Marcos Balter, and a team of major artists and composers, is an example of this. Together we raised over $500,000 to deliver emergency grants to 1,100 musicians impacted by the pandemic.
In other cases, we’ve sought to support creators as they push our art form forward: Tyshawn Sorey won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in music for “Adagio (For Wadada Leo Smith)”, which was commissioned through our Amplifying Voices program. The symbolic significance of nationally recognized awards like this help to inspire the next generations of diverse composers who will shape the future of our music community.
Terri Lyne Carrington with the 2024 Next Jazz Legacy cohort. From left: Nicole McCabe, Eliza Salem, Ciara Moser, Terri Lyne Carrington, Yvonne Rogers, Kanoa Mendenhall, Amyra León, and Christie Dashiell. Credit: Rachel Minto
We must celebrate the ingenuity of organization leaders, administrators, and entrepreneurs.
Our vision of a thriving and equitable ecosystem for new music reminds us of the intricate web of interdependencies that underpin our community’s work. While we are proud to have increased our direct support of artists over the past five years, we know that performing arts organizations and their staff are equally indispensable to the health and imagination of our community. In fact, many arts administrators started their careers as working musicians (and many continue to pursue music beyond their full-time jobs). For them, this work is more than a simple day job; doing their part to support artists from behind the scenes is their life’s calling.
At New Music USA we are deeply committed to supporting the extraordinary range of organizations across the US that share life-enhancing musical experiences with their communities and enable performers and creators to develop their practice. Through our Organization Fund, we award grants to performance groups, dance organizations, venues, festivals, presenters, labels and more. Since 2021, we’ve launched additional support for small artist-led organizations, by supplementing grants with mentorship and cohort learning through our New Music Incubator program. This has enabled us to leverage new funding for organizations outside of New York. I believe passionately in our national role, and I’ve been blown away by the multitude of vibrant music scenes I’ve had the opportunity to discover in the US.
New Music Inc Baltimore Cohort. Credit: Maggie Rudisill
The need for resources across our community vastly outweighs supply.
The relative abundance of emergency funding during the pandemic, and the recognition that arts workers are essential to a vibrant, healthy, and just society, has highlighted the gap in resources for our community. At New Music USA we now receive over 2,500 applications annually for our creator and organization grants for which our annual budget is approximately $820k.
I’m delighted that our grants and programs team has been able to award nearly 6mtoover1,900individualsandorganizationsoverthepastfiveyears.AsIwrite,I’moverthemoontolearnofoursecond6m to over 1,900 individuals and organizations over the past five years. As I write, I’m over the moon to learn of our second 6mtoover1,900individualsandorganizationsoverthepastfiveyears.AsIwrite,I’moverthemoontolearnofoursecond1.25m grant from the Mellon Foundation for our Next Jazz Legacy program which we launched in 2021 with the Berklee Institute for Jazz and Gender Justice. The performance rights organization SESAC has also confirmed $450k for another 3 years of our Reel Change fund for diversity in film scoring. Major multi-year partnerships like these, alongside the many recurring grants we receive from other trusts and foundations have been essential to our impact and growth since 2019. I can’t thank our institutional supporters and corporate partners enough for their belief in our work.
As a Brit, I have also been inspired by the impact of individual giving on arts organizations which is more developed in the US than it is in the UK. As we connect with more donors across the country, we are building discovery and appreciation across the country for new music and giving these generous music lovers the chance to multiply their gift through the various forms of nationwide support we offer to the music community.
The application award rate for the New Music Creator Fund between FY21 and FY24.
A remote workforce strengthens the impact of national organizations.
Our experience of moving to remote/hybrid working in 2020 has convinced us that a decentralized structure can help national organizations like ours to be more embedded within the communities they serve. As of 2024, a third of our board directors are based on the west coast, and our staff and freelancers are based in New York, DC, Chicago, Baltimore, and Cleveland. When we renewed our Program and Advisory Councils of artists, practitioners, and administrators in 2020, we extended its membership to cover 16 states and DC. Our 80+ independent panellists who assess our grant applications are based across 37 states, with 50% rotating each year.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my role has been witnessing how this wide-reaching national network of thoughtful board, staff, artists, administrators, and practitioners connect us to the challenges and opportunities they see in their region or music scene. As some major corporations are asking staff to return to their offices five days per week, we remain committed to our digital hub and spoke structure.
Our work towards a more inclusive future means that we are proud to never stop evolving.
In my role as CEO at PRS Foundation in the UK, equity and inclusion informed many of the initiatives I spearheaded to bring about change in the music sector. During my first five years in the US, the need for change has felt even more pressing. We started to discuss and develop our support of inclusion and belonging as part of the strategic planning process we embarked on in 2019. Where are we now? Where do we want to be in 3-5 years? And what can our data tell us about the challenges across different music genres and communities? Using an evidence-based approach, we have launched four new programs to address major gaps in our field, sustained New Music USA’s longstanding commitment to supporting an exceptionally diverse grantee cohort and we embed equity and belonging as a fundamental commitment that shapes everything we do – from our board, staff, and councils to our programs, processes, and communications with the people we serve. We will continue to deepen this commitment as we fine-tune our grantmaking and strengthen the resources we offer to enable people of all backgrounds to do their best work.
Over the next five years, intentional change and evolution will continue to be a strong characteristic of our work, and the sheer talent and imagination of our community keeps me excited and hopeful for the road ahead. If you have not yet had the chance to help us reflect on any of the points I have outlined here, I encourage you to reach out and share your ideas. We are here for you and I’m eager to continue this journey together!
Vanessa Reed, Henry Threadgill, and Camila Cortina at New Music USA’s 2024 Table for 100 benefit. Credit: Russ Rowland