Classical Movements on the Potential Defunding of the National Endowment for the Arts
As a for-profit company, yes, Classical Movements does not directly depend on the National Endowment for the Arts.
Of course, the very nature of our workāMoving the Music, Changing the Worldāwould suffer immensely, perhaps irrevocably, should the 114thĀ Congress of the United States of America vote āyeaā on the present presidential administrationās proposed budget, an earmarking that so cravenly aims to zero-out all funding for both the NEA and the NEH.
The arts and the humanities in this country struggle to survive as it is; one can easily imagine that any ensemble staring down such in-the-red resources would decide quite quickly that touring to one of our 145-plus destination countries is a luxury ill afforded.
From the beginning, over a quarter-century ago now, Classical Movements has worked almost exclusively with orchestras and choirs that rely on some kind of federal money to ably ply their craft, as ensembles the world over duly depend on fiscal support from their own governments.
Beyond CMās own personal investment in seeing the National Endowment for the Arts continue, ungutted, we firmly assert itās absolutely essential to this nationās continued cultural vitality that American arts organizations flourish, unabated.
Even with the NEAās $147.9 million purse (a mere .oo4% of the total federal ledger, just $0.46 for every American), U.S. performing arts groups struggle still to overcome many, often multivalent obstacles, all too often at the expense of pursuits that would better fulfill their aesthetic mission. Ā
As a recipient of Americans for the Artsā BCA10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts Award, for the last 25 years, Classical Movements has done its part to help fill in the gaps among local, state and federal coffers. And as a truly global company, we remain committed to facilitating cultural diplomacy throughout the globeāpromoting peace through the medium of music.
That all starts, though, from our home office here in Alexandria, Virginia, a scant six miles south of the NEAās 7thĀ Street headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Last year, the National Endowment for the Arts distributed more than 2,400 grants to some 16,000 communities in every congressional district across this great land. Now, itās time to pay that fortune forward, to save LBJās NEA and, ultimately, the arts in America, insofar as weāve all come to love them:
Call your Congressperson.
Don't know who your Representative is?Ā Find out here.
Arenāt sure whoās your Senator?Ā Click here.
Write to the members of theĀ House and Senate Appropriations Committees.Ā
Even better? Schedule an appointment for you and your ensemble to visit their offices!
All American art-lovers deserve more, never less, from their audiences, their communities and, especially, their elected officials. To wit, we wholeheartedly believe that defunding NEA and/or NEH would be a devastating blow to our national artistic identity, as well as this nationās humanity, indeed. #SAVEtheNEA
