Project Support grants are non-recurring grants used to support arts organizations in providing activities that engage new audiences in the arts and contribute to the vibrancy and quality of life in Fairfax County. These grants will not fund operating expenses.

Arts in Education

City of Fairfax Band
City of Fairfax Band will form a Youth Division featuring the Northern Virginia Youth Winds, an auditioned High School level band directed by Mr. Denny Stokes.  This new wind ensemble will offer a unique opportunity for young brass, woodwind, and percussion musicians who are looking for symphonic band experience to complement their High School band experience.  Auditions will be held in the fall of 2011, and the inaugural concert is planned for December.

Greater Reston Art Center
Greater Reston Art Center(GRACE) will present Until every shape has found its city with Evan Reed from September 29 through November 12, 2011.  Borrowing his title from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, Reed will explore the intersection of art, literature, and architecture through complex structures and drawings that transcend literal interpretations.  One work, a human-sized camera obscura, will extend outside the gallery walls and on to the surrounding sidewalk.  This exhibition will be used as the basis for Inter-Action: Enrichment through Art, a program that brings Fairfax County youths to GRACE for tours, workshops, and multi-sensory learning programs.

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts Stem/Steam Institute Programs
STEM Small Bites! Commission training, Institute Residencies, & Family Workshops help achieve STEM goals through early childhood arts learning.  Wolf Trap Teaching Artists will be commissioned to create 5-10 minute original works that will be performed for students during Residencies and featured in Family Involvement Workshops.  These programs will focus on math and science and will lead to interaction and reflection with the teachers, students, parents, and caregivers that participate in the programs.

Virginia Virtuosi
Virginia Virtuosi will conduct a comprehensive, community-based classical music program called, “Classical Access.”  Building upon successful partnerships with Frying Pan Park in Herndon and public schools, “Classical Access,” will bring interactive, education programs designed for children and families through programs and concerts in Fairfax county parks and public schools.

Opportunity

Fairfax Choral Society
Fairfax Choral Society (FCS) will celebrate its 50th Anniversary Season with two new opportunities to bring choral arts to a wider audience in Fairfax County.  In September 2011, FCS will open a new West Campus, located conveniently in the Herndon/Reston area; this campus will include choir opportunities for ages 5-12 in three choirs and six musicianship classes.  In May 2012, the FCS Adult Chorus and Youth Choruses from Annandale and West Campuses will culminate the season by welcoming Dr. Z. Randall Stroope in a workshop, pre-concert lecture, and concert featuring the world premiere of his new work, commissioned for the 50th Anniversary celebration.

McLean Project for the Arts
Seth Rosenberg was a painter that spent over twenty years working and running a gallery (District Fine Arts) in Washington DC.  An influential member of the Washington art community as both an artist and an art dealer, he moved to Cleveland in 2005.  In Cleveland he was able to paint full time, and it was there that he created his best and most cohesive work of his career before dying suddenly and all too soon in 2009. In 2010, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland presented an exhibition of these final works and published a comprehensive catalog.  The McLean Project for the Arts now has the opportunity to present this exhibition of Rosenberg’s works, which have never before been seen in the DC area where he spent the bulk of his career.  The exhibition will be held in the Emerson Gallery from September 15 – November 5, 2011.  An additional educational panel discussion will be held on October 13 and an Exhibition Tour on October 20.

Partnerships with Individual Artists

Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) will present the Alturas Duo on the orchestra’s second Masterworks concert of its 2011-2012 season.  The world premiere of a new piece, commissioned by the FSO and written by Chilean composer, Javier Farias, will be performed on Saturday, October 22, 2011 by the FSO and the Alturas Duo at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax, VA.  Members of the Alturas Duo will be in residence for the week prior to the concert to participate in 2-3 education and outreach activities each day, culminating in an open dress rehearsal for students.

Reunion Music Society
Composer Christopher Johnston set to music the American folk tale, “Stormalong” about a larger-than-life New England sea captain and his gigantic clipper ship The Courser which he navigated around the world.  Captain Stormalong even wrestled an octopus and raced and beat a steam-powered ship.  This story will be narrated by an actor, while accompanying music is performed by the NOVA-Annandale Symphony Orchestra, and with sound effects produced by an on stage Foley artist.  This new work will be premiered at Northern Virginia Communirt College, Annandale Campus, and at the Mason District Park and Lee District Park.

Vienna Choral Society
The Vienna Choral Society will expand its Spring choral concert into a Celtic Arts Festival for Vienna and the surrounding community.  The chorus will be joined by local musicians, dancers, and crafters to present an afternoon of traditional celtic art in a festival setting.  Attendees will not just watch and listen, but be invited to engage through songs in the round, communal dancing, storytelling, children’s activities, and booths with traditional crafts and refreshment.  The event will take place on Saint Patrick’s Day- Saturday, March 17, 2012 from 1-5pm.