THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607170105
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 92 lines
The Virginia Commission for the Arts gave grants to the city of Chesapeake and two Chesapeake-based performing groups.
The city received a $4,000 local government challenge grant, the Chesapeake Civic Chorus was given a $700 general operating support grant and the Hardwick Chamber Ensemble, a classical and contemporary chamber quartet, received a $500 general operating support grant.
The Virginia Commission for the Arts is a state agency that supports the arts through funding from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. It distributes grants to artists, arts and other not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, educators and local governments and provides technical assistance in arts management.
Ninety-four Virginia towns, counties and cities including Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Suffolk received a total of $300,750 through the local government challenge grant program.
These cities will offer matching funds or higher to arts organizations in their jurisdictions. The maximum grant was $4,000, an increase of more than 6 percent over last year's grants.
``We're all thrilled it went up a little bit,'' said L. Randy Harrison, Chesapeake's fine arts coordinator.
Harrison said the grant money is used to support such local groups as the Civic Chorus and the Hardwick Chamber Ensemble. The city's Fine Arts Commission makes the selections.
She said the money also will be used to help bring in such regional performing groups as the Tidewater Winds, for its free summer concerts; the Virginia Beach-based Actor's Theater, which last year brought the musical comedy ``Nunsense'' to Chesapeake; the Generic Theater, which brought Shay Youngblood's lauded play ``Shakin' The Mess Outta Misery'' to the Oscar Smith High School Little Theater; the Virginia Symphony; the Virginia Opera; the Hurrah Players, a Norfolk-based regional children's theater that regularly performs at the Chesapeake Central Library and nurtures young performing talent in the city; and the Norfolk-based d'Art Center, home base to such lauded Chesapeake artists as Ken Wright, Karen Kinser and Bob Holland.
``Unfortunately, there's always more requests than money,'' Harrison said. ``With this money, we are able to stretch dollars and meet some of our grant requests.''
And arts aren't just a frill, Harrison said.
``Those people who feel that supporting the arts is not essential should look around and try to visualize a world without art,'' she said. ``Clothes, furniture, lamps, music, pictures in frames and even the frames are all designed and part of artistic expression. Art impacts our lives even down to the color and design of the computer in home or office.''
The Hardwick Chamber Ensemble and the Chesapeake Civic Chorus are two of the 146 nonprofit arts organizations statewide to receive funds from the state commission, which awarded $1.7 million in grants this year under its general operating support program.
Both organizations say they will use the money for operating and performing expenses.
``We got one two years ago,'' said Jeanette Winsor, pianist with the Hardwick Chamber group. ``They were quite fair about it. We will now match that money with other grants generally coming from the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission, the Virginia Beach Commission for the Arts and Humanities and through patron support.''
The Hardwick Chamber Ensemble also includes award-winning composer John Winsor on clarinet, Suzanne Schreck on violin and Marlene Ford on English horn. It specializes in classical and contemporary chamber music and champions musical works by minorities, women and little known composers as well as featuring the modern chamber works of John Winsor.
The Hardwick group will perform an all-Brahms concert at the Chesapeake Central Library after the first of the year and later on in 1997 will present a concert, tentatively in Western Branch, exploring all four major periods of music.
Although the grant money awarded to the Chesapeake Civic Chorus is down a little from last year's grant, chorus officials are still glad to receive the financial help.
``Every bit we get is welcome and will be well used,'' said musical director Geraldine T. Boone. ``We've been consistently funded by the commission for at least the past eight to 10 years.''
Margaret Cross, administrative director of the chorus, said the funds will be used with money received from the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission, the Business Consortium for the Arts and the Ford Motor Company to help pay for venue rentals, the purchase of music, public address equipment and to pay for accompanying musicians.
The chorus, a group of citizen singers, specializes in sacred classical music, spirituals, light classics and pops. It performs two major concerts - one in the spring and winter - and performs various community outreach concerts.
The group will perform at the Beth Sholom Home of Eastern Virginia, just across the Virginia Beach line, this Sunday, Boone said.
``It's not a big deal, not a formal concert,'' she said. ``But we round up whoever's in town and not on vacation and go and sing some pop songs for these people. We sing, have a good time, talk with the residents, laugh and hold their hands. This is more than just singing, it's being involved with people, involved with the community.'' by CNB