Team
President
Val Castronovo-Waxman
Executive Vice President
Thomas W. Ledwith, Esq.
Director and Treasurer
Christine Marchese Franolic
Director and Secretary
Holly Younger
Corporate Counsel
Aldo A. Badini, Winston & Strawn LLP
Executive Staff
Executive Director
Kristin Lancino
Artistic Advisor
Wu Han
Executive and Artistic Fellow
Nicole Leung
Former Executive Director
Marie M. Ashdown, With thanks for leadership 1984-2023; Executive Director
For over 90 years the Musicians Advocacy Fund has been dedicated to supporting extraordinary young musicians and nonprofit organizations.
Advisory Council
Dmitri Atapine
Inon Barnaton
Alessio Bax
Ben Beilman
Jonathan Biss
Aaron Boyd
Nick Canellakis
Patrick Castillo
Gloria Chien
David Finckel
Hsin-Yun Huang
Yoheved Kaplinsky
Ani Kavafian
Erin Keefe
Kristin Lee
Advisory Committee
Cho-Liang Lin
Li Lin
David Ludwig
Jacques Marquis
Robert McDonald
Paul Neubauer
Ken Noda
Tom Novak
Tara O’Connor
Philip Setzer
Orli Shaham
Arnaud Sussmann
Shai Wosner
Jennifer Watkins
Advisory Council
Dmitri Atapine
Inon Barnaton
Alessio Bax
Ben Beilman
Jonathan Biss
Aaron Boyd
Nick Canellakis
Patrick Castillo
Gloria Chien
David Finckel
Hsin-Yun Huang
Yoheved Kaplinsky
Ani Kavafian
Erin Keefe
Kristin Lee
Cho-Liang Lin
Li Lin
David Ludwig
Jacques Marquis
Robert McDonald
Paul Neubauer
Ken Noda
Tom Novak
Tara O’Connor
Philip Setzer
Orli Shaham
Arnaud Sussmann
Shai Wosner
Jennifer Watkins
Grants For Musicians
For over 90 years the Musicians Advocacy Fund (formerly known as the Musicians Emergency Fund) has been dedicated to supporting extraordinary young musicians and nonprofit organizations. Founded in 1931, the original goal was to provide assistance to professional artists during the difficult years of the Great Depression.
In 2023, renamed the Musicians Advocacy Fund, the organizations vision is to continue funding special projects for classical musicians and organizations through a nomination and application process.