1050 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste. 500
Washington, DC 20035
Our Federal tax ID is 86-2276658.
The Denyce Graves Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization.
WHAT IS A MUSIC CONSERVATORY?
A Conservatory of music is an institution for education in musical performance and composition. Originally to train musicians for public performance, they eventually expanded the curriculum to include composition, instrumental and vocal technique and acting.
The first Conservatories in the United States were Oberlin Conservatory located in Oberlin, Ohio established in 1865 and Peabody Conservatory located in Baltimore, Maryland classes starting in 1868. The benefits of attending a Music Conservatory is the ability to focus specifically on your major, opportunities to perform in full-length productions, and receive weekly one-on-one lessons and coaching along with numerous performance opportunities.
The Juilliard School, a private performing arts conservatory in New York City, was a natural selection as an inaugural participant in Shared Voices. Julliard’s predecessor institution, the Institute of Musical Art (IMA), was founded in 1905 by Frank Damrosch, a German-American conductor and godson of Franz Liszt, on the premise that the United States did not have a premier music school and that too many talented students went to Europe to study music. With significant support provided by banker and philanthropist James Loeb, the Institute was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and became the first endowed American music school.
The mission of the Institute's founders was to establish a musical institution with the highest standards of artistic education for gifted musicians. Accordingly, the school relied on its endowment to ensure that the quality of instruction was independent of students’ financial status. In 1924, the Institute became the Julliard School of Music, a graduate music conservatory, named for its principal benefactor, Augustus D. Juilliard. With the addition of dance and theater programs, it was renamed the Julliard School in 1946.
Located at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, Juilliard alumni and faculty have garnered countless Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards. Notable alumni include Viola Davis, Renée Fleming, Audra McDonald, Wynton Marsalis, Leontyne Price, and Nina Simone, and Denyce Graves is Distinguished Visiting Faculty member.
GET INVOLVED
Your generous donation to the Denyce Graves Foundation supports our efforts in bringing Shared Voices to more of our nation’s vocal arts programs, to enrich the lives of more students, and help encourage a cultural landscape within the vocal arts at American universities that reflects the diverse world in which we live.
OUR MUSIC CONSERVATORY PARTNERS
The Denyce Graves Foundation is proud to partner with the following Music Conservatories for the 2022 - 2023 Shared Voices program. Click on each institution's logo to learn more.
