Grant and Collaborative Initiatives: Professional Performance

The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music offers the Grant and Collaborative Initiatives: Professional Performance program to support projects related to the works of composers Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein. Applications are accepted from professional organizations for performances, with priority on additional costs. The foundation has awarded over $5 million since 1983, fostering creativity and appreciation for musical theater. Deadlines include November 1 for projects starting the following January, and June 1 for college/university performances.

NOTE:
The annual application deadline is 1 November for proposals for projects and performances taking place on or after 1 January of the coming year and before 1 July of the year following. For example, the application deadline is 1 November 2025 for proposals for projects and performances taking place on or after 1 January 2026 and before 1 July 2027. (Proposals for retroactive funding of projects or performances will not be accepted.)
An additional application deadline of 1 June is primarily intended for College/University Performance grants for productions taking place in the following academic year, however applications in all categories are welcome at this time.
Applications for support of major professional productions/festivals/exhibitions, etc., may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis without application deadlines.
Applicants are encouraged to contact the Director of Programs and Business Affairs to discuss their proposal prior to submission.
About the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music
Based in New York City, the Foundation encourages appreciation of Weill’s music through support of performances, recordings, and scholarship, while nurturing talent more generally in the creation, performance, and study of musical theater. Through its Grants Program, the KWF funds projects and productions involving the work of both Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein in a number of categories, including both professional and amateur performance. As counterparts to the Grants Program, Collaborative Initiatives foster partnerships to realize projects that advance the strategic goals of the Foundation.
Grants Program & Collaborative Initiatives
The Foundation's Grant and Collaborative Initiatives Programs award financial support to individuals and not-for-profit organizations for projects related to Weill, Lenya, or Marc Blitzstein. Since 1983 the Foundation has awarded more than $5,000,000 in grant funding to hundreds of organizations and individuals worldwide. Proposals are accepted in the following categories: Professional Performance, College/University and Amateur Performance, Media, Scholarly Symposia and Conferences, Publication Assistance, Research & Travel, and the Kurt Weill Dissertation Fellowship.
Grants Program: Professional Performance
Funding may be requested by professional opera companies, theater companies, dance companies, orchestras, ensembles, and other concert groups for performances of musical works by Kurt Weill and/or Marc Blitzstein. Priority is given to funding the additional costs specific to the particular work of Weill’s or Blitzstein’s or presentation thereof. As such, please specify the nature of the funding request within the narrative and budget sections of the grant application.
Please note:

• All works must be presented in their original versions and orchestrations, with the exception of the following authorized arrangements:
• Chansons des quais/Songs of the Waterfront
• The Cradle Will Rock: both the 14-player arrangement by Josh Clayton, and the piano-only version.
• Kleine Zaubernachtmusik
• One Touch of Venus: authorized reduced orchestration for 10 players

Die sieben Todsünden: 15-player orchestration by HK Gruber and Christian Muthspiel. The arrangement for low voice by Brückner-Rüggeberg is not eligible for support, however.
Trains Bound for Glory
Additionally, the following works not written by Weill or Blitzstein are eligible for support:

• Lenya Story: Ein Liebeslied (2017 play with music based on the lives of Lenya and Weill; German-language only)
• LoveMusik (2007 musical based on the lives and letters of Weill and Lenya)

Ineligibility

Compilation properties or concerts consisting of individual Weill or Blitzstein songs do not qualify for support.
Musical adaptations and proposals in which the music serves in an incidental or background capacity are not eligible for funding.
Costs of new translations or adaptations of dramatic works are not eligible for funding (although the productions themselves may be).
“Indirect costs,” administrative expenses, and institutional overhead are not eligible for funding.Proposals for retroactive funding of projects or performances will not be accepted.