Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Awards Announced

We are pleased to announce the first recipients of the Margaret Stewart
Lindsay Arts Leadership Awards, a new program that encourages high school and collegiate musicians to give back to their communities through the arts.

Through this program, From the Top will provide grants and mentoring for three community projects this year. A shared grant pool of $2500 will support two existing programs –  Musical Diplomacy, a community initiative that inspires conversation about social issues through music, and the Andover Lawrence String Program at Phillips Acadamy – and launch a new after-school arts program in Boston. More information about the leaders and their work is available on our web site.

Gathering the Grantees

Brian Kaufman, Griffin Gaffney, and Michael Reichman at the orientation

On April 8th, grantees Griffin Gaffney, a From the Top alum and first year student at Havard, and Brian Kaufman and Michael Reichman, Master’s candidates at New England Conservatory, attended an orientation at our office. They introduced themselves and their projects, met the From the Top education team that will be supporting them along the way, and shared the individual stories and experiences that inspired them to pursue this opportunity.  The leaders also shared the challenges they face and helped each other brainstorm around these issues. Fellow grantee, Jacob Shack, who was unable to attend in person, was introduced through a video we recorded with him earlier in the week. Technology saved the day!

The orientation was an eye-opening experience for all and the first of what we hope will be an on-going conversation between these inspiring arts leaders! We plan to reconvene the full group before the start of summer and will document their efforts along the way.