The Pittsburgh music education coalition UniSound has received a $95,000 grant to fund its Black Teaching Artists-In-Residence program, which funds teaching artists as they develop their craft and engage with the community.
Earlier this year, UniSound selected an inaugural pair of artists to receive funding through the BTAR program: flutist, performer and educator Brittany Trotter and multidisciplinary artist and educator Lyn Starr.
“Does there need to be more? Always,” Starr said in a phone interview with the Post-Gazette. “Two teaching artists are not enough in the city of Pittsburgh. Many Black teaching artists aren't receiving the credit they deserve.”
Starr has worked with Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh to establish a podcast for Pittsburgh Festival Opera and their Opera Tots program for children and Written Out Loud, which helps children write and publish their own books. He credited the BTAR program with providing him the opportunity to focus on his projects rather than chasing after contracts and additional teaching positions.
“It was a chance to perfect some of my artistry,” he said.
Starr's residency ends in September, when he'll depart for Los Angeles to pursue a master's degree in music industry at the University of Southern California.
The $95,000 grant will ensure the program supports a second generation of teaching artists, who will be announced in August.
Founded in 2019, UniSound includes more than 35 youth music organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania, a single hub to connect parents and students with the region's varied music education offerings. The grant funding comes from the Arts Equity Reimagined Fund, a Pittsburgh area collaboration of foundations and an anonymous donor that seeks to help guide the arts community toward solutions and opportunities as it adjusts to this new reality, according to the fund's website.
Jeremy Reynolds: jreynolds@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1634; twitter: @Reynolds_PG. Reynolds' work at the Post-Gazette is supported by a grant from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Getty Foundation and Rubin Institute.
First Published: June 23, 2021, 10:15 p.m.