Castleton grants help festival come ‘Alive’

The Castleton Festival, conductor Lorin Maazel’s summer residency program for young professionals and four-week festival of music and opera based in Rappahannock County, has been awarded two grants to support its 2014 programs.

A $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the Arts Works program will support the 2014 Castleton Festival season. The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 were recommended for grants, for a total of $25.8 million.

The Festival was also awarded a $3,000 grant from the Claudia Mitchell Fund of the Rappahannock Association for the Arts and the Community (RAAC) to support the “Castleton Alive!” arts education program. The program pro- vides school-aged students with interactive experiences in the performing arts, including live opera performed at the Castleton Festival.

The program comprises both in-school workshops and half-day or full-day programs on site at Castleton; this year’s dates are June 24-26, July 2-3 and July 8. Castleton Alive! also offers in-school opportunities for students to experience mentoring and education from world-class opera singers, actors and musicians including Nancy Gustafson and Dietlinde Turban Maazel.

To reserve a space or schedule a group event, contact Kyle Masson at Kylem@castletonfestival.org. For a full list of events and activities, visit castletonfestival.org/ipage/education.