Boston Children's Chorus (BCC) is a proud recipient of an Art Works award of $35,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in support of BCC’s preeminent high school age choirs, Young Men’s Ensemble (YME) and Premier Choir (PC).

In its first 50 years, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded more than $5 billion in grants to recipients in every state and U.S. jurisdiction, the only arts funder in the nation to do so. Today, the NEA announced awards totaling more than $27.6 million in its first funding round of fiscal year 2016, including an Art Works award of $35,000 to BCC. The Art Works category supports the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.

NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The arts are part of our everyday lives – no matter who you are or where you live – they have the power to transform individuals, spark economic vibrancy in communities, and transcend the boundaries across diverse sectors of society. Supporting projects like the one from Boston Children’s Chorus offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”

“BCC is thrilled to be a recipient of an Art Works award,” said Anthony Trecek-King, President and Artistic Director of BCC. “The support of the NEA enables 70 of our most talented singers to reach artistic excellence and experience the power of music through BCC’s urban-focused, multi-tiered choral curriculum. We are honored by the NEA’s vote of confidence in our work.”

The goal of the PC and YME Project is to further the artistic advancement of talented high school students by providing a rigorous, diverse music education curriculum with opportunities for performances, recordings, commissions, and collaborations with visiting conductors and composers. PC and YME represent the pinnacle of artistic achievement among BCC’s 13 ensembles.