CMA Announces the 2025 Performance Plus Grantees

Chamber Music America, the national network for ensemble music professionals, has announced the distribution of $238,600 to support 14 women- and gender minority-led jazz ensembles as part of its Performance Plus grant program. Supported by The Doris Duke Foundation, CMA’s Performance Plus program connects each bandleader and their ensembles with experienced artist-mentors for evaluative listening sessions and recording projects.

The 2025 grantees were selected after an adjudication process by an independent peer panel in early spring 2025. Individual awards of up to $21,500, will be used to support ensembles across five major regions and territories in the United States: the Northeast, Midwest, South, West, and Puerto Rico.

The grantees and the artist-mentors they are working with are outlined below.

• Ginita y La Orquesta Esa (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Bandleader: Gina Benalcázar-López | Artist-Mentor: Michael Mossman

• Berta Moreno & La Troupe (New York, NY)
  • Bandleader: Berta Moreno | Artist-Mentor: Stefon Harris

• Ikioi Quartet (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Bandleader: Naomi Nakanishi | Artist-Mentor: Anna Webber

• EMPECTET (Queens, NY)

Bandleader: Emily Pecoraro | Artist-Mentor: Steven Bernstein

• Ariacne (Union City, NJ)
  • Bandleader: Ariacne Trujillo | Artist-Mentor: Gonzalo Grau

• Catherine Bent & Ian Coury (Jamaica Plain, MA)
  • Bandleader: Catherine Bent | Artist-Mentor: Anat Cohen

• Alden Hellmuth Sextet (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Bandleader: Alden Hellmuth | Artist-Mentor: Steve Lehman

• Stella Heath Septet: The Billie Holiday Project (Graton, CA)

Bandleader: Stella Heath | Artist-Mentor: Marcus Shelby

• Alyssa Allgood Quintet (Chicago, IL)
  • Bandleader: Alyssa Allgood | Artist-Mentor: Nicole Zuraitis

• Karen Shiraishi Quintet (New Orleans, LA)
  • Bandleader: Karen Shiraishi | Artist-Mentor: Herlin Riley

• Paola Rivera & Aquarela (Arecibo, PR)
  • Bandleader: Paola Rivera | Artist-Mentor: Miguel Zenón

• Nicole Odreman Quartet & Friends (New York, NY)
  • Bandleader: Nicole Maria Odreman Valenciano | Artist-Mentor: Donald Vega

• Rebecca Kleinmann Quintet (Durham, NC)
  • Bandleader: Rebecca Kleinmann | Artist-Mentor: Rahsaan Barber

• Haeun Joo Trio (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Bandleader: Haeun Joo | Artist-Mentor: Jihye Lee

Chamber Music America, the national network of ensemble music professionals, was founded in 1977 to develop, strengthen, and support the chamber music community. With a membership including musicians, ensembles, presenters, artists’ managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music, CMA welcomes members representing a wide range of musical styles and traditions. In addition to its funding programs, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to instrument and other insurances, conferences, seminars, and its quarterly publication, Chamber Music magazine.  

The mission of the The Doris Duke Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research, and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties.