New Music USA announces 2023 Creator Fund Awardees

Written By

Jill Strominger

New Music USA announces 2023 Creator Fund Awardees

Total of $208,050 awarded to 60 creators from across the U.S. 

New Music USA is proud to announce the selection of 60 awardees for the 2023 New Music Creator Fund, which offers grants to individual music creators working in any genre to lead the development of new and existing ideas and collaborations and get to the next stage of their creative practice. Totaling $208,050 in funding, this year’s awards support a range of activities that span the musical spectrum, with collaboration around new music creation as a central element. 

Awardees reflect a broad range of perspectives and styles and represent the expansive and equitable ecosystem for new music that New Music USA is dedicated to supporting; 55% of awardees identify as women, non-binary, gender queer or gender non-conforming, 70% of the awardees identify as BIPOC, and awardees represent 21 states. 

Creator Fund grants will support costs that relate to collaboration with other artists and practitioners. New Music USA is also striving to stimulate creativity and collaboration between music creators and other artists from any discipline or background and to build community in response to the restrictions of recent years. 

See the full list of awardees below and on the New Music Creator Fund Program Page, and discover their work on these playlists: 

New Music USA is committed to making all of its grant programs equitable, by removing barriers in the application process and by consistently elevating all artists and organizations who receive our support. Creator Fund applicants are given straightforward guidelines and are asked to supply a brief project description (either written or video recorded) and work samples.

The peer review process for New Music USA’s Creator Fund applications reflects ongoing efforts to dismantle bias. For this round, which attracted 963 applications, New Music USA engaged 40 artists, composers, musicians, and administrators from locations around the country to build a panel with 53% of people identifying as women and nonbinary, and 53% of people identifying as BIPOC. 

Vanessa Reed, President and CEO of New Music USA, says, 

“It has been thrilling to explore the breadth of imaginative work of year’s awardees and applicants, which demonstrates the ever-inspiring truth that there is incredible new music being created every day across the country. I am proud that we are enabling these creators to move forward in these collaborations that also lift up the communities around them.” 

Chicago-based Creator Fund award recipient Akenya Seymour shares, 

“Receiving this grant helps to ensure that I can properly compensate the people who have helped me along my musical journey. This album will be a milestone not just for my career—and for all involved whose vast talents will be showcased in new, musically diverse ways—but in what is possible for independent artists! Thank you for helping to make my dreams a reality.” 

2023 Creator Fund recipients:  

  • Akenya Seymour – Chicago, IL  
  • Alphonso Horne – Bronx, NY  
  • Arson Fahim – Newton Highlands, MA  
  • Asuka Kakitani – Northfield, MN  
  • Austin Yip – San Jose, CA  
  • Avram Fefer – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Badie Khaleghian – Houston, TX  
  • Berta Moreno – New York, NY  
  • Braxton Taylor – Bushwick, NY  
  • Carla A Kihlstedt – Woods Hole, MA  
  • Cary L. Morin – Fort Collins, CO  
  • Charles Burnham- Brooklyn, NY  
  • Coco Elysses – Chicago, IL  
  • Coco Peila – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Colin McLaughlin – Saint Louis, MO  
  • DaEun Jung- Los Angeles, CA  
  • Danielle Jones (Tylynn) – Omaha, NE  
  • David Leon – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Edisa Weeks – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Ehsan Matoori – Sherman Oaks, CA  
  • Elisa Harkins – Tulsa, OK  
  • Emily Pinkerton – Albany, NY  
  • Eric Kennedy – Baltimore, MD  
  • Eunmi Ko – Tampa, FL  
  • Gabriel Globus-Hoenich – Bronx, NY 
  • Garrett Arney – Seattle, WA  
  • Jacinta Clusellas – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Jake Charkey – Brooklyn, NY  
  • John Hodian – Saugerties, NY  
  • Jonathan Suazo – Quincy, MA  
  • Jordan Bak – Winston Salem, NC  
  • Jordan Munson – Indianapolis, IN 
  • Josh Evans – Jersey City, NJ  
  • Juana Luna – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Judd Greenstein – Gill , MA  
  • Julie Herndon – Los Osos,CA  
  • Julien-Alexandrre Yves Guichard (Jimi Lucid ) – Glendale, NY  
  • Kal Sugatski – Portland, ME  
  • Kayla Briët – Cypress, CA  
  • Kian Ravaei – Bloomington, IN 
  • Lea Bertucci – Kingston, NY  
  • Leyla McCalla – New Orleans, LA  
  • Lisa DeSpain – Jackson Heights, NY  
  • Lou Carrig – New Orleans, LA  
  • Lyndon Harewood – Jersey City, NJ  
  • Marion T Hayden – Highland Park, MI  
  • Megan Conley – Honolulu, HI  
  • Melinda Faylor – Forest Hills, NY  
  • Nala Duma (Lamb)- Brooklyn, NY  
  • Mai Khôi – Pittsburgh, PA  
  • Rod Wallace – Farmington Hills, MI  
  • Ryan Cohan – Chicago, IL  
  • Shamiqua Wilson – Staten Island, NY  
  • Sirintip Phasuk – New York, NY  
  • Sonny Mehta – Friendswood, TX  
  • Taína Asili – Albany, NY  
  • Tracy Yang – Elmhurst, NY  
  • Trey Makler – Sacramento, CA  
  • Whitney George – Brooklyn, NY  
  • Yuhan Su – Brooklyn, NY 

Let’s Hear it for the Panelists

New Music USA extends deep gratitude to the panelists from across the country who reviewed Creator Fund applications:  

Alba Triana, Alex Peh, Andrew Fenchel, Anisha Muni, Ashni Dave, Brandon Rolle, Brandon Ross, Christopher Nicholas, Ciera McKissick, Concetta Abbate, Emily Koh, Erika Dohi, Erika Tazawa Jenkins, Frances White, Glenn McClure, Gwen Laster, Jacob Gotlib, Jeff Fairbanks, Jessica Ackerley, John Panza, José Hernández Sánche, Josh Graham, Julia Bumke, Kaleigh Wilder, Kamau Pendergrass, Kirsten Volness, Madeline Falcone, Marcus Elliot, Matt Lavelle, Matthew Evan Taylor, Megan Ihnen, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Paul Pinto, Peter Tracy, Rocco Somazzi, Sarah Isenhart, Svetlana Shmulyian, Trevor New, Whitney Johnson, and Yan Pang.
 

Funding Transparency 

Both the New Music Creator Fund and the New Music Organization Fund are made possible by the generous funders who either donated to New Music USA’s endowment or generously donate to New Music USA annually. Some of these funders had or have specific requests regarding the kinds of work we support because of their geographical location or particular genre areas, which includes around 46% of funds going to New York-based artists or organizations. Please find more detailed breakdown info in the FAQs. 

Thank You to Our Funders  

New Music USA’s Creator Fund receives support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Cheswatyr Foundation, The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, and the BMI Foundation. Support for New York-based artists is provided by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and/or the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Support for New Music USA and its many programs and activities is provided by foundations, corporations, government agencies, and hundreds of individual contributors. Learn more here. 

The award for Layla McCalla is funded by Moira Smiley’s Bringing The Water award which honors the profound influence and benefit to past and future folk music innovators by Black American musical artists. 

 

About New Music USA 

New Music USA supports and amplifies the sounds of tomorrow by nurturing the creation, performance, and appreciation of new music for adventurous listeners in the United States and beyond. We empower and connect US-based music makers, organizations, and audiences by providing funding through our grants; offering support and fostering new connections through our programs; deepening knowledge through our online magazine, NewMusicBox; and working as an advocate for the field. New Music USA envisions a thriving and equitable ecosystem for new music throughout the United States. newmusicusa.org 

 

Photo credits for header, L to R: Carla Kihlstedt by Joseph Navas; Lyndon Harewood by Ebar; Mai Khoi by Hannah Standiford; Badie Khaleghian by Badie Khaleghian