About
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.
Among the early organizers were Mrs. Ernest (Lucie) Schelling, Mrs. Ernest Hutchenson and Olga Samaroff Stokowski, with Walter Damrosch named as Chairman of the Board. The Executive Chairman at the time, Mrs. Vincent Astor, was one of the most prominent promoters of musical life in New York City. The advisory board consisted of Fritz Kreisler, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Arturo Toscanini among other musical luminaries.
In its first year, the then named Musicians Emergency Fund (MEF) sponsored a benefit concert for 16,000 people at Madison Square Garden featuring Mr. Paderewski at the piano. The concert's purpose was to generate funds to offer jobs to unemployed musicians during the challenging Depression years. During World War II, the fund turned its attention to offering programming on military bases as well as offering music instruction for servicemen. MEF subsequently expanded its attention to the therapeutic effects of music for veterans.
In 1984, MEF began presenting gifted instrumentalists and singers in “showcase concerts” at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Singers chosen by MEF’s awards program included Renee Fleming and Olga Makarina. The fund then evolved into an organization that offered young singers and instrumentalists opportunities by providing assistance for projects, including concerts, then known as the Junior/Senior Concerts. These concerts paired established artists with younger professionals in public concerts, providing both mentorship and public stage performances. Leading artists included Gary Graffman, Jaime Laredo, Anthony McGill and Pamela Frank, to name a few.
During the Covid crises, performance musicians found themselves without work, not unlike the Great Depression period. MEF moved in quickly to aid artists and organizations.
In 2023, renamed the Musicians Advocacy Fund, the organization's vision is to continue funding special projects for classical musicians and organizations through a nomination and application process.
