#WeAreNewMusic Spotlight:
Fay Victor

Fay Victor Photo: Kyra Kverno

Once you’ve heard her sing, Fay Victor’s voice is instantly recognizable. Yet her omnivorous appetite for adventurous music-making guarantees that what she’s singing is either something you’ve never heard before or something that you’ll hear in a new way. At New Music USA, we were thrilled that a grant from us enabled Fay to realize one of her larger scale projects, and that we could speak with her for NewMusicBox about the wide range of her musical activities. Given her open-mindedness and generosity, we are also grateful that despite her busy schedule she was able to make time for us to serve as an adjudicator on one of our grant panels. We look and listen forward to the next time we can collaborate on something with her.

Fay discusses New Music USA’s impact:

“It’s an HONOR to speak about New Music USA, an organization that has given its support to myself and so many other artists in and around new music.

 

I thank New Music USA and Frank J. Oteri for offering me a video interview alongside Jen Shyu and the legendary Sheila Jordan in a wide ranging feature in 2015.  It offered me the first opportunity to share my vision as a vocalist and educator to a wider audience. Incredibly thankful for the opportunity to answer Mr. Oteri’s well thought out questions. Later on in 2019, I was part of a programming grant funded by New Music USA for Sanctuary for New Media in Troy, New York enabling me to perform an iteration of a large work dedicated to the Trump Administration, Mutations for Justice. I’ve even served as a panel member for a grant cycle of New Music USA; it was amazing to see the wide breadth of projects that received funding, especially small projects – which can be the most difficult to fund.  Seeing the impact of New Music USA’s from this vantage point made an impact on me!

 

As artists, It is a joy and a relief to receive funding for our work.  New Music USA has made the process to apply for and receive funding as egalitarian as possible. Congratulations New Music USA for all that you’ve done as an organization as artists. My hope in the coming years is that your role will grow as you listen to the needs of the new music community and do as you’ve done in these first 10 years, rise to the challenge of meeting them.”

Explore Fay’s Work Funded by New Music USA: