American composer Lewis Spratlan won an Artist Fellowship the first year the grants were offered, in 1975. He had just begun working on an opera, Life Is a Dream, whose journey spanned five decades, from near-abandonment to the one of the highest honors in American music.
Mass Cultural Council is celebrating 40 Years of Fellowships by sharing video interviews with some of the extraordinary artists who have received Artist Fellowships since the program’s inception in 1975.
- On Mass Cultural Council’s YouTube Channel, experience the stories of some of the amazing artists we’ve funded over the last 40 years.
- If you’re a past Fellow or Finalist of the program, sign our Alumni Book to get back in touch and share your own story.
- Contact us if you have ideas for the project.
Video Credits: music by Lewis Spratlan (Music Composition Fellow 1975, ’88), “Hesperus Is Phosphorus” (Innova Recordings 2015), performed by Network for New Music and The Crossing, conducted by Donald Nally, in 2012; video footage of “Hesperus Is Phosphorus by Meg Sarachan; photographs courtesy of Lewis Spratlan, Samuel Masinter/Amherst College, and Santa Fe Opera Theater; title animation by Basia Goszczynska (Film & Video Fellow 2013); intro music by Laura Andel (Music Composition Fellow 1999); “Sao Dao,” music by Laura Andel, BMI ©1997, performed by the Laura Andel Orchestra.
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