On Friday, May 2, hundreds of nonprofit arts organizations across the United States received cancellation notices of previously awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Pacific Chorale was included in the notice – specifically terminating our commissioning grant for a major work by American composer Jocelyn Hagen this October. The nationwide grant withdrawals occurred the same day that the proposed federal 2026 budget was announced, which calls for the elimination of the NEA, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

Half of the Chorale’s 2025 awarded funds were invoiced and received in January for early work completed on the project. The Chorale is presently exploring final options to appeal the federal government for the remaining promised funds. Regardless of the outcome of our individual award, the very foundation of the NEA is in jeopardy.  

Established by Congress in 1965, the Endowment has enjoyed broad bipartisan backing over the last 50 years. Its 2025 budget of $210 million represented some 0.003% of the total federal budget. To Pacific Chorale specifically, the NEA has distributed $506,000 to support 22 significant Chorale projects since 2001. 

The Chorale’s average NEA grant award is $23,000. This federal support and recognition are a key part of the ecosystem of coalition funding needed to finance the dynamic projects Pacific Chorale produces. After passing through a competitive national application process, an award from the NEA helps to attract additional government, foundation, and corporate grants, as well as private philanthropic backing. While the Chorale’s average NEA grant award may be considered a low dollar value against Pacific Chorale’s $2.5 million budget, the awards are tremendously impactful in the building of compelling choral projects. Many of the listed projects below only moved forward when the keystone funding – a grant from the NEA – was confirmed.  

Past NEA funding of Pacific Chorale has directly allowed for the commissions of major new works by American composers Jocelyn Hagen, Jake Heggie, Tarik O’Regan, Stephen Paulus, Frank Ticheli, and Eric Whitacre. NEA grants awarded emergency funding during the 2008 recession and 2021 pandemic crisis, providing a lifeline to continue employing artists and staff. NEA awards supported early versions of our elementary and high school choral programs, as well as the Chorale’s very first summer Choral Festival. These are brief examples of NEA influence on Pacific Chorale’s impact in Orange County. There are countless artists, arts participants, and arts organizations across our nation with these same stories.