Performance Plus

Chamber Music America gives priority to projects that demonstrate how the applicant will use the grant funding to:

• Create opportunities for the ensemble to engage with current and new audiences
• Work with the artist mentor to create a recording that showcases the work of women and gender-minority-led jazz ensembles
• Mentorship and professional development opportunities for women and gender-minority individuals in the jazz music field
• Create more access to jazz music
• Foster a sense of respect and appreciation for jazz music.

The ensemble is eligible if: 

• it is a professional gender minority and/or is a women-led jazz ensemble consisting of 2-10 musicians that includes improvisation as an integral part of composition and performance. (The ensemble bandleader must be a gender minority or woman-identifying professional jazz musician);  
• it is based in the U.S., Indian Country, or U.S. territories; 
• the ensemble bandleader is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; 
• the ensemble bandleader or the ensemble have no overdue reports or financial obligations to CMA 
• the bandleader must be a CMA member at time of application; 

The Artist-Mentor:

• must be an accomplished jazz bandleader with demonstrated experience in performance, composing, arranging, instruction, and recording.
• must be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S..
• must be willing to mentor the ensemble and bandleader on technical aspects or composing, arranging, instruction, ensemble cohesion, and other aspects related to success in the jazz music industry.
• must work with the ensemble for six sessions totaling 540 minutes or a total of nine hours Each session should be minimum of 90 minutes. (This can look like six 90-minute sessions or it could look like three 3-hour sessions or something in-between depending on the schedule that the bandleader, ensemble, and artist-mentor agree to.)

Artist-Mentors help bandleaders and ensembles by:

• Sharing their knowledge of jazz history, songwriting, and their lived experiences with the music industry with the bandleader and ensemble
• Providing insight on how the bandleader and ensemble might better emphasize a unified stylistic direction.
• Providing insight into how individual ensemble members might highlight differentiated styles.
• Providing insights on improvisation and arrangement; For example, are improvised sections appropriately structured, and do scatting phrases and instrumental lines align harmonically?
• Providing insights on group cohesion; For example, are the rhythm section players achieving a cohesive and synchronized tempo?

Working with an artist-mentor should help the bandleader and ensemble

• Gain new insights through learning from the artist-mentors knowledge of jazz history, songwriting, and their lived experiences with the music industry.
• Help the bandleader and ensemble overcome artistic challenges and elevate their work to a new level.
• Help the bandleader and ensemble with planning the recording session based on the insights and knowledge they’ve gained through the mentoring.
• Help the bandleader and ensemble consider marketing/business planning connected to the release of the recording.

Applicants that have received CMA funding in two of the past three grant years (since 2022) are not eligible for 2025 Performance Plus funding.  

• If you have an active Performance Plus grant project in progress, you cannot apply for a Performance Plus grant in this grant cycle. 
• Current New Jazz Works grantees are not eligible to apply for 2025 Performance Plus grant.  
• If awarded a 2025 Performance Plus grant, the grantee would be ineligible to receive a 2025 New Jazz Works grant.  
• Current Artistic Project Recording grantees are not eligible to apply for a 2025 Performance Plus grant 
• If awarded a 2025 Artistic Projects Recording grant, the grantee would be ineligible to receive a 2025 Performance Plus grant.  
• Current primary contacts/bandleaders for New Jazz Works and Artistic Projects grants cannot apply. 

Eligible requests automatically include:

Ensemble Mentoring Sessions Payment 

Funding of $200 per ensemble musician for each of the six Mentoring sessions with the Mentor. (Total of $2,400 for a duo to $12,000 for a 10-member ensemble). Ensemble members must be present for the sessions. Sessions must be completed by March 31, 2026. 

Mentor Payment  

Payment of $500 for the Mentor for each of the six Mentoring sessions with the ensemble. Sessions must be a minimum of 90 minutes. (Total of $3,000 for six Mentoring sessions.) 

Demo Recording 

Funding ($6,500) must be used for recording a demo of only the works rehearsed in sessions with the Mentor. Demo recording must be completed by September 30, 2026. 

Ineligible requests: 

• Funding requests outside of the Ensemble Mentoring  
• Travel Subsidies for ensemble or artist educator 

Grants will fund up to 100% of the eligible expenses starting at $11,900 for a duo and up to $21,500 for a dectet

All Performance Plus grant projects must take place during the grant period between April 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026.  

Please Note: Grant funds are taxable income; grantees must comply with all applicable city, state, and federal laws, ordinances, codes, and regulations regarding the reporting of grant funds.  

A Performance Plus grant is made up of three components: 

• Ensemble Member Payment: $1,200 per musician ($2,400 for a duo and up to $12,000 for a dectet) 
• Artist Educator Mentor Payment: $3,000 
• Demo Recording: $6,500 

1. Ensemble Mentoring Sessions Payment Funding of $200 per ensemble musician for each of the six Mentoring sessions with the Mentor. (Total of $2,400 for a duo to $12,000 for a 10-member ensemble). Ensemble members must be present for the sessions. Sessions must be completed by March 31, 2026.
2. Mentor Payment Payment of $500 for the Mentor for each of the six Mentoring sessions with the ensemble. Sessions must be a minimum of 90 minutes. (Total of $3,000 for six Mentoring sessions.)
3. Demo Recording Funding ($6,500) must be used for recording a demo of only the works rehearsed in sessions with the Mentor. Demo recording must be completed by September 30, 2026. 

Applicants will need to have chosen an artist mentor and have proposed meeting dates as part of the application process. (This is the Memorandum of Understanding between you and the artist mentor.) 
 
Grant funds are taxable income; grantees must comply with all applicable city, state, and federal laws, ordinances, codes, and regulations regarding the reporting of grant funds. 

At the time of application, the applicant must be a current CMA member.

Audio Uploads 

• Two ensemble audio samples are required and must be uploaded to the online application. 
• Samples can be up to 5 minutes each and feature works for small ensemble (2-10 musicians). 
• Samples should demonstrate the ensemble’s performance level and must feature either the full ensemble or at least 50% of ithe musicians listed in the application* Include contrasting works, if possible.  
• Soloistic works are not recommended. 
• *A duo must submit works with both partners.* 
• Only mp3 and/or m4a file types are accepted.  
• Samples do not need to be of studio quality but should be clear and representative of the ensemble’s performance within the last two years.   

Audio Summary 

• Instrumentation, track length, and cue times are required to guide the panel’s listening.

 Memorandum of Understanding 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a signed statement of intent and consent between the bandleader and proposed Mentor. The required MOU includes intended session dates, meeting location, and payment to the Mentor. A sample MOU is provided for you on the CMA Performance Plus website. 

Applications are due to Chamber Music America by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, February 6, 2025. Award notifications are made in March. 

CMA uses the online application platform Submittable. Go to https://cma.submittable.com to create a free Submittable account if you do not already have one. 

• In your Submittable account, select “Performance Plus.” 
• Complete the online form directly or draft your responses in an offline document as backup, then copy/paste your information into the online application. 
• To save the work you have done on your application, you must click SAVE DRAFT at the bottom of the form before exiting. 
• You can return to your saved application to continue working on it by following the log-in instructions. 
• Complete all required fields, including text boxes, the Funding Request, and Audio Sample information.  
• Prepare your audio samples and MOU attachment. 
• Save audio files as: Ensemble Name-Audio 1 and Ensemble Name-Audio 2; acceptable file types: mp3, m4a.  
• Upload the audio files and MOU to the application. 
• When complete, sign and date your application. 
• Click “Submit” to send application to CMA; you will receive a confirmation email. 
• The application will close promptly at 11:59 PM ET on Thursday, February 6, 2024. Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications at least 24 hours in advance of the deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.  

Performance Plus applications are reviewed by an independent panel of chamber music professionals; CMA staff and board do not select or adjudicate award recipients (Representative list of previous CMA panelists).    

Written Application   

The panel will review: 

• why and how the Mentoring sessions will benefit the ensemble at this stage in its career; 
• why the ensemble has chosen a particular Mentor and its plan for working with them; 
• why and how the Mentoring sessions will be beneficial to the ensemble’s artistic development; 
• proposed timeline for the Mentoring sessions and the studio recording. Include the months, city, and state where Mentoring sessions will take place.

Audio Review 

• Ensemble audio samples are evaluated for artistic and technical strength, and cohesiveness of the ensemble in performing scored and improvised music. 

If awarded, the bandleader must serve as the primary contact for the grant.   

They will be responsible for:  

• serving as the grant contact for CMA; 
• providing government issued documentation as proof of their U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status; 
• U.S. citizenship or permanent residence confirmation for their Mentor; 
• scheduling the Mentoring sessions; 
• studio documentation for the demo recording; 
• receiving and managing the grant funds; 
• filing the interim and final report (reports must be submitted for grantees to remain in good standing with CMA). 

Grant funds will be disbursed as follows: 

• The full ensemble and Mentor payment disbursed after the signing of the CMA grant contract with the inclusion of required materials (grantee intake form: proof of residency, bank information, etc.). 
• The full demo recording payment is disbursed after receipt of the interim report. 

Grant funds are taxable income; grantees must comply with all applicable city, state, and federal laws, ordinances, codes, and regulations regarding the reporting of grant funds. 

CMA collects data on race and ethnicity in connection to grant programs and applications; membership; and surveys with partner organizations, like funding partners. As such, CMA has developed a set of standards for keeping, collecting, and presenting data on race and ethnicity that aim to provide consistency in collecting and using this type of data. 

These standards have been developed in accordance with data collection standards by other groups such as CMA’s funders, federal agencies, and agencies that track race and ethnicity data. 

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