Birch Creek Receives Arts Board Grant

Birch Creek Music Performance Center is pleased to announce that it has received a matching grant of $26,615 from the Wisconsin Arts Board. This grant was awarded through the “Creation & Presentation” Program, and will support Birch Creek’s mission of providing intensive, performance-based instruction to promising young musicians by immersing them in a professional, mentoring environment.

State grants are awarded through a competitive process. This grant indicates that Birch Creek provides the highest level of quality in its programs, community outreach and administration. In 2008, Birch Creek concerts attracted audiences of nearly 12,000, including more than 5,000 residents and tourists who attended free outreach concerts throughout Door County. Additionally, 194 students attended Birch Creek, and were taught by nearly 100 professional musicians and educators.

Each fall, several Birch Creek faculty members return to Door County to conduct free “Artists in the Schools” workshops in local schools’ music programs. During the winter of 2009, Birch Creek’s new Juniper Hall provided a venue for area arts organizations for music, theatre, and dramatic reading performances.

“Birch Creek has been a Door County education and entertainment center for 34 years,” remarked Senator Alan Lasee (R-DePere). “I have seen Birch Creek grow and flourish in our rural Egg Harbor countryside, and provide tourists and local citizens alike with a remarkable music experience.”

Wisconsin Arts Board grants are awarded on a matching basis. Organizations that receive Arts Board funds are required to match state tax dollars with additional public and private funds.