Photo courtesy of Cultural Art Strings.

Manchester's Cultural Art Strings/Riverfolk Music and Arts Organization has been awarded a grant of $2,400 from the State of Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA). The grant was awarded through the MCACA peer review process and was one of 73 applications to compete for MCACA fiscal year 2015 funding.

Cultural Art Strings (CAS) will utilize the grant award at this summer at its music camp which will take place June 15-26 at the Manchester United Methodist Church. They will expand the field of students they will be able to serve by hiring additional teachers with wind, brass, percussion and guitar specialties. In addition, CAS will initiate the first ever Manchester Youth Orchestra Project, combining the talents of the best wind, brass, and percussion players with the already established strings group to explore a rich student orchestra repertoire. In this way they will continue to provide a platform for positive youth music education and outreach in Manchester, which since 2012 has included concerts at Manchester Gazebo Concerts, Manchester Street Festival, Manchester Farmer’s Market, Manchester United Methodist Church, Manchester Area Friends Fish Fry, St. Mary’s Ice Cream Social, St. Mary’s Christmas Eve Service, Christmas in the Village, Saline’s Celtic Festival, Saline’s Brecon Village Memory Center and many more!

Organizations receiving a MCACA grant award are required to match those funds with other public and private dollars. Some of the local support for the project is coming from families who are currently enrolled in the string education program but CAS is also currently seeking local community sponsors to assist with matching funds. Two benefit concerts have been scheduled as well, the first called Tangos and Tapas for May 29th, 7:00 pm at the Manchester Blacksmith Shop, and the second featuring CAS faculty, fellows, and guests on Saturday, June 13th at 4 pm at the home of Kent and Lynn Miller. CAS also receives significant volunteer and in-kind support from the community including the Manchester United Methodist Church and Manchester Community Schools.

The MCACA peer review process allows for each grant application to be competitively considered by a panel of in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences.