Chattanooga Girls Choir Sunday Showcase '22 String Theory Outreach at Howard Middle School
About Us
PAL Mission Statement
The Performing Arts League (PAL) is dedicated to promoting and encouraging youth involvement in the performing arts -- Dance, Music, Theater -- through grants to non-profit performing arts organizations and scholarships to individual students located in Hamilton County, TN.
PAL History
Founded in 2011, the Performing Arts League (PAL) is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging and supporting youth involvement in the performing arts throughout Chattanooga and Hamilton County. Focusing on the disciplines of dance, theater, and vocal / instrumental music, PAL annually raises funds and awards grants to nonprofit performing arts organizations to support their programs for young people, as well as scholarships to individual young performers for additional intensive training.
Since 2014, the Performing Arts League has awarded over $170,000 in grants and scholarships that benefit a wide range of youth arts programs and aspiring young performers in the greater Chattanooga area, increasing to over $200,000 by May of 2023.
Arts and educational nonprofit organizations receiving grants from the Performing Arts League include:
Ballet Tennessee
Chattanooga Ballet
Chattanooga Boys Choir (Only Men Aloud)
Chattanooga Central High School (Piano Lab)
Chattanooga Girls Choir
Chattanooga High School Center for the Creative Arts (Dance Festival)
Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Youth Orchestras
Chattanooga Theatre Centre (Youth Theatre)
Christian Family Theater
East Lake Expression Engine
Hamilton County Department of Education
Hixson High School (Music Program)
The Howard School Band
String Theory (Outreach Programs)
Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga (Musical Playground)
Individual students have also been awarded scholarships to attend workshops and advanced study in the areas of ballet, theater, classical and jazz ensembles, as well as vocal and instrumental music.
Thank you to our 2022 - 23 Sponsors!
The Chattanooga Times Free Press is the exclusive print media sponsor.
• In Memory of Robert C. Thompson, Jr. • Jacqueline Marschak & Leonard Murray • Cathie Kasch • Amy & J. David Young • Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory & Florists • The Feed Table & Tavern
Scholarships and Grants Awarded
Testimonials
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Performing Arts League Grants & Scholarships program is at the heart of our mission
2023 GRANTS Funds were awarded to the following local performing arts organizations for youth programming:
Chattanooga Ballet for Summer Making Moves Program
Chattanooga Boys Choir for “Only Men Aloud!” tenor-bass festival
Chattanooga Girls Choir for 2022 summer intensive camp
Chattanooga Theatre Centre Youth Theatre 2023-24 productions
Center for Creative Arts to host the Tennessee Youth Dance Festival in Fall 2023
Christian Family Theater for 2023-24 youth season musicals
Eastlake Expression Engine for their Summer Intern program
The Pop-Project for Dance Alive Summer Youth intensive
String Theory for artist in residence educational community outreach
2023 SCHOLARSHIPS Funds were awarded to 22 Hamilton Co. student artists to attend:
Sewanee Summer Music Festival
Harper International Music Academy, Iceland
Ballet Austin (TX) Summer Intensive
TN Governor's School for the Arts (2)
Nashville Ballet Summer Intensive (2)
Joffrey Ballet School (TX) Summer Intensive
Duke University American Dance Festival
Lee University Music Camp (2)
Saarburg International Music Festival, Luxembourg
Chattanooga Ballet Summer Intensive (4)
NYC Dance Alliance Summer Intensive
School of Percussive Arts
Vocal training in musical theater (private lessons)
Junior Theatre Festival (GA)
Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensive (2)
Past Funding: from 2014 to the present, the Performing Arts League has supported both individuals and organizations through our Grants & Scholarships program, including:
Awarded grant to Central High School Music Department for Piano Music Lab
Awarded grant to Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Youth Orchestra for recording equipment
Awarded a grant to the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, for A Dramatic Arts Experience, summer theatrical arts classes for underserved children in grades 1-3
Awarded grant to Hixson High School Band for vibraphone
Awarded grants to the Chattanooga Girls Choir for a commissioned piece by Susan LaBarr for their 30th Anniversary and for the Hamilton County All-Female Choral Festival
Awarded a grant to the Hamilton County Department of Education for Lookout Valley Middle/High School’s “Build the Band of Gold”
Awarded a grant to the Kiwanis Club for the Clifton Hills Elementary School Outdoor Music Playground
Awarded grants to the Christian Family Theater for their youth production of Matilda the Musical and for the purchase of sound equipment
Awarded grants to East Lake Expression Engine for their summer program
Awarded grants to String Theory to co-sponsor and support introductory musical programs for young children at selected Chattanooga and Cleveland public elementary schools, of which several are Title 1 schools
Awarded grants to Unity Performing Arts for their Rising Star Summer School Program which offers dance, voice, keyboard, brass, and drum instruction to students at Carver, Avondale, and Washington Hills Recreation Centers
Awarded scholarships for music lessons and/or music camps for young musicians of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Youth Orchestras
Awarded scholarships to dancers to attend the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts
Awarded scholarships to young dancers to attend summer intensive dance programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina
Awarded a scholarship for a young organist to attend Westminster Choir College’s Organ Camp
Awarded tuition scholarships for summer intensive study to young dancers of Ballet Tennessee
Awarded tuition scholarship for summer study to a Chattanooga Ballet dancer
Awarded tuition scholarships to young singers of the Chattanooga Girls Choir
Awarded a scholarship for a young flutist to attend the Sewanee Summer Music Festival
Held annual Vocal Competition among aspiring high school classical singers
Provided funds to help sponsor the Chattanooga Boys Choir’s Only Men Aloud, a weekend choral workshop
Provided funds for the Chattanooga Clarinet Choir’s Clarinet Concerto Competition
Provided the Chattanooga Theatre Centre with production funds for their Youth Theatre performances
Purchased uniforms for The Howard School Band and provided funds for secure storage
Testimonials from our 2022 Scholarships and Grants Recipients
Nena Widtfeldt (Chattanooga Ballet / 2022 Grant) “Please share my gratitude with all of PAL for the support of our students and their desire to further their dance education this summer. Those who have received scholarships greatly appreciate your efforts and I know they will work diligently in their summer training courses.”
John Farrimond (Chattanooga Ballet / 2022 Grant) “We are thrilled with PAL’s support of our community-based programs!”
Katheron Latham (Chattanooga Central HS Piano Lab / 2022 Grant) “Thank you so much for awarding Central's Piano Lab this generous grant! We do so appreciate your encouragement and support of this program. It will make such a difference for our students!”
Rodney Van Valkenberg (Chattanooga Theatre Centre Youth Theatre / 2022 Grant) “PAL’s support is vital for us to maintain our professional standards to ensure the highest quality of theatre for youth in Chattanooga.”
Jessica L. Bowman, Center for Creative Arts (Tennessee HS Dance Festival / 2022 Grant) “Young Artists greatly benefit from PAL’s work in the arts community in Chattanooga”
Libby O'Neil (East Lake Expression Engine / 2022 Grant) “Thank you so much!! We really appreciate the work you and others at the Performing Arts League do in our community to support us and many others. Please pass along my gratitude!”
Jubilee Elliott (Chattanooga Ballet Summer Intensive / 2022 Scholarship) “Thanks to the generosity of the Performing Arts League, I am one small step closer to my dreams.”
Elise Giles (Chattanooga Ballet Summer Intensive / 2022 Scholarship) “Thank you for the scholarship award! I am very grateful to the Performing Arts League for helping me achieve my dreams in dance.”
Nadia Giles (Vocal Studies / 2022 Scholarship) “Thank you and The Performing Arts League for the generous scholarship! I am very excited to continue my studies this summer.”
Ronaldo Lorenzo (Lee University Summer Music Camp / 2022 Scholarship) “I would like to say thank you to the Performing Arts League for providing the scholarship to go back once again to Lee University. I had fun with my friends and music, and the staff there. Now I have a different style of Music to grow in.”
Layla Reed (Chattanooga Ballet Summer Intensive / 2002 Scholarship) “This scholarship has allowed me to continue exploring new dance styles, grow my artistry, and improve significantly.”
Juan Vargas (Lee University Summer Music Camp / 2022 Scholarship) “My time at Lee university music camp was the best six days. Those lessons, and everything I learned, I will build on and keep learning because that’s the best thing to do with this experience. Thank you, Performing Arts League.” Harrison Wells (Belmont University Summer Winds Camp / 2022 Scholarship) This experience opened my eyes to a whole new world of opportunity on the trumpet.”