Birch Creek Receives WAB CARES Grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board

Egg Harbor, Wis. (August 11, 2020) – Birch Creek is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board’s WAB CARES program, which is providing emergency support for arts organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This grant program was created by the Wisconsin Arts Board in April 2020 to help fund staff salary support, fees for artists, programs and/or facilities costs. Funding for this emergency relief grant was made possible through special CARES Act funding received from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from Arts Midwest, a non-profit regional arts organization in Minneapolis.

“These one-time funds will help our arts groups remain, and reemerge, as vibrant parts of Wisconsin’s creative economy,” said Kevin Miller, Arts Board Chairperson. “Artists and arts organizations are an integral part of our local communities and increase the quality of life for all.” Miller added, “Arts organizations are also, undeniably, an important part of the $10 billion arts and cultural sector of Wisconsin’s economy – economic drivers that provide thousands of jobs statewide.”

Karen Goeschko, WAB’s Assistant Director for Programs & Services, added high praise for arts organizations throughout Wisconsin. “Under intense circumstances, they have very quickly—and with a lot of work—turned this time of social distancing into one of creativity, empathy, and social connection.”

Because of support from the WAB and NEA, Birch Creek continues to actively pursue its mission of providing performance-based instruction to promising young musicians in 2020. New online instruction, including final-day performances in virtual settings, took

place in June and July with one-week sessions in Percussion & Steel Band, Symphony, Jazz I and Jazz II. In September, Birch Creek faculty and an alumnus will present Studio Sessions online for advancing musicians in all genres, from high-school-age students to adults.

Birch Creek Music Performance Center is a residential summer music academy in Egg Harbor, WI, for advanced young musicians pursuing a career path in music. For 45 years, students in Percussion & Steel Band, Symphony, and Big Band Jazz have been taught by nationally known performers and educators during the day and performed alongside them in concerts at night. In 2020, due to Covid-19, those performances took place over the air waves. Birch Creek will return to its face-to-face Academy programming in 2021.