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21 September 2023
Continuo Foundation marks three years since its creation with the
announcement of the recipients of its latest round of grants.
Since September 2020, Continuo has raised funds to conduct six rounds of grants, amounting to a total of £650,000. In the latest round, £100,000 has been awarded to 25 period-instrument ensembles for upcoming projects that include concerts, tours and recordings of little-known repertoire. Eight of the grantees applied in a category for recently formed groups. These ensembles received 40% of the total grant allocation, as compared to 20% in previous rounds.
Continuo's recently launched online hub for early music, Continuo Connect, is also raising the profile of the sector and providing comprehensive concert listings. With over 500 live events featured in the last six months, Connect is furthering Continuo’s mission to help musicians build new and more diverse audiences in communities across the country. Up-and-coming artists are achieving greater recognition from the visibility provided on the Continuo Connect site. When combined with the endorsement of a Continuo grant, credibility with promoters is further enhanced.
One new grantee, Le Foyer des Artistes, is a recently formed Northern Ireland-based group who will perform a baroque programme at the newly restored St Columb’s Hall in Derry to celebrate the feast day of the city’s patron saint on 7th December. Another new ensemble, Sounds Historical, will tour a programme of works inspired by birdsong and performed on 30 different instruments to eleven locations across the country, engaging new audiences with their music and storytelling.
“We received 58 grant applications, with many more high-quality creative projects than we were able to support with the £100,000 available from our generous donors. The selected projects will enable musicians to delight audiences across the country, sharing their musical passions and scholarship.” – Tina Vadaneaux, Founder and CEO of Continuo Foundation
To date, Continuo has awarded grants to 85 ensembles for a total of 145 creative projects benefiting 900 musicians and almost 100,000 audience participants. With the latest round of grants, over 150 communities will have been given the opportunity to enjoy live early music (as illustrated on the map).
Full details of the ensembles and projects supported in Continuo’s sixth round of grants are available on the Our Grantees page.
Congratulations to all our grantees, and thank you to the generous donors who made Grant Round 6 possible!