THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA CREATORS CORPS

In keeping with its commitment to playing a vital role in the community, the Louisville Orchestra launched its Creators Corps program in its 2022 – 2023 season.

Since its founding, the Louisville Orchestra has supported and sustained the music of its time and celebrated living composers. In 1937, the LO board chairman (and later Louisville’s mayor) Charles Farnsley and Robert Whitney, the LO’s founding Music Director and conductor, conceived an adventurous plan: to make the commissioning, performance, and recording of new works a centerpiece of the LO’s mission. Between 1950 and 1992, the Louisville Orchestra commissioned and recorded 52 new works by composers worldwide and released nearly 150 LPs on its First Edition Records label, comprising more than 450 works by living composers.

In the spirit of First Edition Records, the Creators Corps represents a giant leap forward. Through this program, the LO invites three creators per season to act as artist-leaders, developing meaningful relationships with Louisville and its citizens and embodying the orchestra’s conviction that music is a fundamental part of civic life.

The Creators Corps is the first program of its kind that deeply integrates artists into the orchestra and the city. Three Creators each year move to Louisville for the upcoming season and live in the Shelby Park neighborhood for at least 30 weeks. The Creators serve as LO staff members, receiving an annual salary, health insurance, housing, and custom studio workspaces. Throughout their time in Louisville, the Creators compose new works for the orchestra, design educational and community projects, and integrate into the fabric of city life.

The Creators Corps program received a three-year, $750,000 grant from The Mellon Foundation and additional support from generous individual donors locally and nationally.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

MEET OUR CREATORS: