Kurt Weill Foundation Grant Program: Professional Performance

Kurt Weill Foundation Grant Program: Professional Performance

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Kurt Weill Foundation for Music
Last Updated: October 30, 2025

Summary

The Kurt Weill Foundation Grant Program supports professional performances of musical works by Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein. Eligible applicants include professional opera, theater, dance companies, and orchestras, with funding prioritizing original versions and orchestrations. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded over $5 million in grants, emphasizing diversity and inclusion. The program encourages innovative projects while maintaining artistic integrity, ensuring that selected works reflect the legacy of these influential composers.

Overview

NOTE: The annual fall application deadline is for proposals for projects and performances taking place in the New Year and before 1 July of the year following.An additional summer application deadline is primarily intended for College/University Performance grants for productions taking place in the following academic year. About the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music Chartered in 1962 as a not-for-profit private foundation, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music preserves and perpetuates the legacies of composer Kurt Weill (1900-1950) and his actress-singer wife Lotte Lenya (1898-1981). Based in New York City, it encourages an 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. It maintains the Weill-Lenya Research Center; the annual Lotte Lenya Singing Competition; Weill-Lenya Artist Sponsorships, the Julius Rudel/Kurt Weill Conducting Fellowship, and the Harold Prince/Kurt Weill Directing Fellowship. It has prepared and co-published twelve volumes of the Kurt Weill Edition, with more in preparation. It awards biennially the Kurt Weill Prize for scholarship about music theater. The Foundation’s ongoing communications include its semi-annual Kurt Weill Newsletter, monthly E-News, and lively presence on multiple social media platforms. Since 2012, the Foundation has also administered the musical and literary estate of Marc Blitzstein. The Foundation's eight-member staff happily assists individuals and institutions on a daily basis in response to inquiries about licensing, casting, performing materials, historical and biographical information, and other resources. Overseen and energized by a distinguished and diverse fourteen-member board of trustees, the Foundation functions imaginatively and responsibly as the heir, custodian, and administrator of the rights of Weill, Lenya, and Blitzstein. 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. Its Grants and Collaborative Initiatives Programs reflect the Kurt Weill Foundation's commitment to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As such, the Foundation ensures that its grant funding is awarded to organizations who have demonstrably committed to and implemented policies ensuring non-discrimination, diversity, and equality in its practices. The Foundation's Grant Program accepts proposals 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. 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. Applications are reviewed by an independent advisory panel per the KWF’s Evaluation Procedures and Criteria.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. 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.Proof of not-for-profit standing.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. Symphonic Nocturne from Lady in the Dark Trains Bound for GloryAdditionally, 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.