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Makaya McCraven photo by Daniel Sheehan.

King County Awards COVID-19 Relief Grants to Science, Art & Culture, and Live Music Venues

With $2 million of funding backed by the federal CARES Act, King County awarded a total of 62 grants in three categories: Music venues (35 awards), Arts, culture and science educations organizations (21 awards), Science organizations (6 awards). The grant funds will improve compliance with public health safety measures as these organizations reopen to support the county’s economic recovery and enhance residents’ quality of life Grants may be used to reimburse a variety of costs between March 1 and December, such as payroll, rent, mortgage payments (excluding property taxes), healthcare insurance for employees, and utility expenses necessary to sustain the business during and after the public health emergency. The Washington Music Nightlife Association (WANMA) continues to advocate for music venues. Visit wanma. info to get involved with their Save our Stages initiative.

Programming Changes at KEXP Reflect Anti-Racist Commitment

Recently, the Seattle-based public radio station and arts organization KEXP 91.3 announced changes to their programming in a bid to bring a wider range of voices and expertise to its radio programming. Changes include a new weekday radio lineup, the addition of two new full-time leadership positions in music curation and editorial content, and the expansion of several production roles. These developments form part of KEXP’s commitment to becoming an antiracist organization and making the station’s programming stronger overall. Changes include new job roles for these KEXP DJ’s—Larry Mizell, Jr. will become Director of Editorial and Gabriel Teodros will become Associate Music Director; introducing a new show titled Overnight Afrobeats hosted by Lace Cadence; expanding roles for established contributors—Sharlese Metcalf will host a new show titled Mechanical Breakdown, and Albina Cabrera will become a permanent cohost of the show El Sonido, as well as the Latin American Content Producer. John Richards, Director of Programming, emphasized that “KEXP’s mission must be to serve our whole community. These programming changes reflect a big step in that direction, and one I hope will lead to even more Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) voices being centered on and off the air—not only at KEXP but also in other non-profits and media organizations in our city and beyond.” Programming changes went into effect on July 27. Visit kexp.org for information.

4Culture’s Reopening Toolkit

4Culture has a helpful reopening toolkit for arts and culture organizations. Resources are provided to assist organizations in preparing staff, volunteers, and their facility to welcome back patrons. The toolkit includes communication guidelines, multi language signage, health check information, protocols for dealing with patrons violating social distancing guidelines, and will also include Washington State guidelines once available. To access these resources, go to 4culture. org/reopening-toolkit/

Cornish College of the Arts Continuing Education Classes

In addition to their academic curriculum, Cornish College of the Arts offers adult continuing education classes for those 18 years+. Classes include film editing, songwriting and recording, music licensing and publishing, music for film, games, and TV, among others. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, these classes are being offered remotely. For details visit cornish.edu/ extensions-programs/continuing-education/#

Washington State Students Perform at Jazz Aspen Snowmass

Several graduates from Washington state recently performed at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy in collaboration with the Frost School of Music at The University of Miami. Participating students from the local area include Andrew Torgelson on saxophone (Garfield High School graduate), Leo Folsom on piano (Roosevelt High School graduate), Nicholas Roels. on drums (Redmond), and Jonathan Bumpus on trombone (a graduate from the jazz program at Whitworth University, Spokane). The all-scholarship JAS Academy program ran from July 26–August 9 and was under the direction of Christian McBride; Frost School of Music’s Dean, Shelly Berg, and Program Director for Jazz, Chuck Bergeron. For details visit jazzaspensnowmass.org

SFJAZZ Announces Cancellation

SFJAZZ announces the cancellation of the first half of the 2020–2021 season, indicating that there will be no shows with live audiences from September through December. They hope to open the season in the coming year and will continue to follow the guidance provided by local, state, and federal agencies in planning their eventual reopening. Despite not being able to present to live audiences SFJAZZ plans to expand their digital offerings. For information visit sfjazz.org.

Jazz Coalition Announces Second Round of Funding

Jazz Coalition announces a second round of funding, giving artists the means to create new works, whilst they are unable to work. Artists are nominated by Jazz Coalition members, and are selected by a jury of their peers to receive $1,000 commission grants. When assembly restrictions are lifted, commission recipients will premiere their new works at Jazz Coalition member venues. Some of the artists included in the second round are Darius Jones, Eric Revis, Fabian Almazan, Helen Sung, Makaya McCraven, Fay Victor, and Carmen Staaf. More information about the commission recipients can be found at jazzcoalition.org

Chamber Music America’s 2021 Conference Goes Virtual

Due to ongoing travel restrictions and COVID-19 health concerns surrounding large gatherings, CMA will hold their 2021 conference virtually. The new dates for the conference are January 11–15. Visit conference.chamber-music.org for details.