Press release submitted by Groton Hill Music Center
Groton Hill Music Center has received a grant of $39,500 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, through its Cultural Investment Portfolio Program.
This grant signifies that Groton Hill Music Center provides notable public value through its programs and services. Groton Hill CEO Lisa Fiorentino said: “This is a transitional year for our organization as we begin presenting programs in our spectacular new facility in Groton. These funds from the Mass Cultural Council are instrumental in supporting our community engagement initiatives as well as general operating needs, and we are truly grateful to be a recipient.”
Groton Hill is committed to enriching the lives of individuals and families in the 70+ communities they serve through philanthropic community engagement initiatives: free and low-cost instrument instruction for students from underserved communities; free concerts for senior citizens; bedside singing for individuals in hospice care; and need-based scholarships for our educational programs. “We invest over $150,000 per year in these accessible music experiences that serve some 6,000 students and audience members, fostering individual growth and community connection,” Fiorentino added.
“I was happy to see that Groton Hill Music Center, which serves constituents throughout the First Middlesex District, has received a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Investment Portfolio program. These funds will help to ensure that everyone has access to the amazing musical programs offered at Groton Hill,” said State Senator Ed Kennedy (D- Lowell). “Groton Hill Music Center is a leading force for the arts in our region, and I'm proud to have been a strong advocate to increase the line item for the Massachusetts Cultural Council in the state budget.”
Mass Cultural Council has a budget of $15.7 million, including an appropriation of nearly $14 million from the state of Massachusetts and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. The agency also runs the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment.
Mass Cultural Council funds reach every community in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to promote excellence, education, access and diversity in the arts, humanities and sciences, to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the vitality of our communities and economy.
Now in its 38th year, Groton Hill Music Center opened the doors of its stunning new home for music education, performance, and community engagement in September 2022 in Groton, MA. Designed by award-winning Epstein Joslin Architects of Cambridge, MA, the new center is an architecturally exquisite 126,000-square-foot music education and performance venue. It houses a 1,000-seat concert hall with additional lawn seating for seasonal concerts, a 300-seat performance hall, 35 multi-scaled rehearsal and teaching spaces, and state-of-the-art acoustics designed by Threshold Acoustics of Chicago. Additionally, two-thirds of the land on which the facility sits – formerly an apple orchard and a horse farm – is preserved as picturesque agricultural fields. As a regional non-profit organization, Groton Hill Music Center relies on the generosity of individuals, families, businesses, and foundations to support our programs. Our programs are also supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and with funds from the council administered by the Local Cultural Councils. Learn more at grotonhill.org.