We are thrilled to announce that Cordancia has received funding through ArtsBloom, a City of Rochester initiative to fund arts education, literary arts, performing arts, and visual art across Rochester.    

Through ArtsBloom, Cordancia will receive $20,000 to support a free children's concert series featuring Black and Latinx composers, soloists, and narrator.  

This project will bring family and children’s concert programming to the Rochester community in four performances during the 2024-2025 season. The performances will allow Rochester families to see and hear composers from their own city who are making their way as professional musicians. 

Concerts will feature a fully illustrated booklet with a coloring page by children's book illustrator Rosemary Shojaie. The booklet shares the stories and music of two young Rochester composers, Alyssa Rodriguez and Kevin Leysath II. Rodriguez’s piece Kalevala for Kids is a retelling of Finnish mythology based on her experiences studying music in Finland. Leysath II’s music Red Tail Visions tells the story of a young boy learning about the heroic Black pilots of World War II.  

Other living composers and greats from the past will be heard in these concerts, including Rhiannon Giddens, Angélica Negrón, William Grant Still, Joseph Bologne, and more.