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12 July 2022
“We are delighted to have supported 176 live performances and recordings in 78 different locations with the grants awarded so far. Thanks to our donors' generosity, after just 18 months, we are thrilled to announce Grant Round 4, taking total funding to £460,000.”
– Tina Vadaneaux, Founder of Continuo Foundation
As Continuo Foundation continues to expand its support of period-instrument musicians, helping live music to flourish across the country, a fourth round of project grants was announced today. Ensembles were invited to apply for a total of £100,000 being made available to enable projects scheduled from October 2022 through to the end of March 2023. This follows £360,000 awarded by Continuo in the first three rounds, in support of seventy-one projects that have so far provided work for over 560 freelance musicians.
To date, Continuo has received a total of 190 project grant applications, with requests from over 100 UK-based period-instrument ensembles. Fifty-one of these groups now comprise Continuo’s vibrant grantee community. The adjacent map shows the wide geographical distribution of grant-supported performances, whilst also highlighting the work still to be done to bring excellent music to under-served regions.
Continuo will extend its commitment to emerging talent with the continuation of an eligibility category, introduced in January 2022, dedicated to ensembles formed between June 2019 and June 2022. These groups, made up primarily of recent graduates, will be eligible to apply based on the submission of a video recording from a performance given before 30 June 2022. The grants to recently-formed ensembles aim to help emerging artists to establish themselves and gain visibility.
Continuo Patron Mary Bevan MBE comments:
“Continuo Foundation's support has been life-changing for the freelance musicians in the period performance world, and it's great to see this vital initiative continuing to grow with this new round of grants. I am proud to support their work as a Patron.”
Continuo Foundation expects to award approximately 20 grants of between £2,000 and £10,000. The final numbers will reflect the quality of the applications received and the amounts requested. Grants from Continuo are open to professional UK-based ensembles of at least three period instrumentalists. Applications open today with a submission deadline of 15 August 2022. Grant award decisions are expected by 22 September 2022. Full details on how to apply are available on the website here.