BU Tanglewood Institute Receives $15,000 Award from the National Endowment for the Arts
The grant will support BUTI's 2025 Young Artists Orchestra and Wind Ensemble
BU Tanglewood Institute Receives $15,000 Award from the National Endowment for the Arts
The grant will support BUTI’s 2025 Young Artists Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, programs that have earned the reputation of preeminent summer youth training programs in the nation
This press release is originally from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $15,000. This grant will support the 2025 Young Artists Orchestra and Wind Ensemble programs. The NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants.
“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including BUTI’s Young Artists Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.”
Executive Director, Nicole Wendl says, “It is an incredible honor to receive recognition from the National Endowment of the Arts. There is power and meaning in teaching young artists to embody the skills of close observation, responding in positive and meaningful ways to their observations, and sharing that experience with others. It is the essence of the artistic process, and we are grateful that the NEA recognizes BUTI as a program that fosters that education.”
FROM BUTI’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
“It is an incredible honor to receive recognition from the National Endowment of the Arts. There is power and meaning in teaching young artists to embody the skills of close observation, responding in positive and meaningful ways to their observations, and sharing that experience with others. It is the essence of the artistic process, and we are grateful that the NEA recognizes BUTI as a program that fosters that education.“
-Nicole Wendl
The Young Artists Orchestra (YAO) and Wind Ensemble (YAWE) are 4-6 week, large ensemble programs where students are given the foundation to excel artistically and personally. The curriculum is designed with the National Core Arts Anchor Standards in mind, and all programmatic activity is in service to student growth in excellence. These programs together reach 150 students annually, selected by audition from a highly competitive applicant pool of over 1,000. Recruitment is nationwide, drawing from at least 40 states and 10 countries.
YAO and YAWE students are held to the highest artistic standards. Our artistic standards include the ability to interpret musical ideas, apply experience and non-musical knowledge to inform artistic decisions, fluency in public speaking and off-stage personal connection, and the discernment and maturity to balance academic, musical, and student life activities in a healthy way. Our assessment data are both qualitative and quantitative and are captured through post-program surveys administered to both students and faculty.
Rehearsal and Performance
Students rehearse under the direction of nationally and internationally recognized conductors and faculty in preparation for performance. Large and small ensemble playing entreats students to connect with how their preparedness affects the group as a whole and builds the listening skills necessary to match intonation, sound, and stylistic interpretation with the rest of the ensemble.
Community Engagement and Inclusion
After coaching from faculty and BUTI Manager of Community Engagement & Inclusion, students perform throughout the greater Berkshires community. These performances are musically exceptional, and include audience connection before, during, and after the performance. Audiences range from pre-k through an aging population, and each performance is meant to be a reciprocal experience between BUTI and the community, rather than a one-directional offering.
Individual Instruction
Instructed by BUTI faculty, BSO members, and guest artists, students focus intensely on the techniques of their instrument and performance. Good sound production, intonation, making stylistically appropriate choices, and self-assessment are taught through supportive, one-on-one attention.
Collaboration and Networking
YAO and YAWE students are given a valuable opportunity to collaborate with peer composition students to prepare the performance of a new work written right before their eyes. The navigation of this collaboration requires responsibility, flexibility, giving and receiving constructive criticism, and more. Access to the successful and well-connected faculty, guest artists, and BSO members gives students a vast network of musicians from whom to learn and on whom they can lean through difficult musical decisions. And, residential living prepares students for post-secondary education and life. It teaches them to navigate difficult relationships, take responsibility for their health, and be accountable for their own academic and musical success.