The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency operating out of Washington, D.C., has awarded Centrum a $35,000 grant to support Masters of American Music Workshops and Performances—namely, this summer’s Fiddle Tunes and Port Townsend Acoustic Blues workshops. You can read the press release from the NEA here.

Centrum’s commitment to safety during the fluctuating circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic means the workshops and performances will happen online.

We are deeply honored by this most meaningful support from the NEA,” said Executive Director Robert A. Birman. “The NEA rewards excellence, and competition for these grants is both intense and nation-wide; only 61 applications were approved for this second round of the NEA’s Folk and Traditional Arts funding. All of us at Centrum are thrilled by the agency’s flexibility and support throughout the pandemic, and eager to welcome musicians and fans of the art forms to these two online workshops.”

Fiddle Tunes (July 2-5, 2021) offers a rollicking four days of learning and playing music with masters of a wide variety of fiddling styles; in community with the bearers of fiddle traditions, you’ll improve your skills as a musician, discover culture through music, learn music in a cultural context, and build lifelong relationships in the fiddle music community.

Port Townsend Acoustic Blues (August 3-8, 2021) will bring early blues from the homes of tradition bearers into yours through instruction in its history, songs, styles, and playing, capped by online faculty concerts celebrating various regional styles. For a full list of artist faculty and the opportunity to register, go to centrum.org.