The upcoming Musician Development Residency with Grant Llewellyn and Antonio Pompa-Baldi has given Eugene Symphony Association great cause for celebration. The acclaimed musicians will spend a week in residency with professional and student musicians in the Southern Willamette Valley this spring, a project partly funded by a $10,000 Cultural Trust grant and, more recently, a prestigious $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Eugene Symphony is one of 895 NEA Art Works grants funded nationwide. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the NEA’s highest criteria for excellence. Those criteria include public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts and enhancing the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received more than 1,525 applications for Art Works funding. Of the funded projects, NEA’s acting chair, Joan Shigekawa, said, “Whether it is a focus on education, engagement or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable experiences for the public to engage with the arts.”

During the April, 2014 residency, Llewellyn, who is currently music director with the North Carolina Symphony, will work with the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance orchestra and choral students, a partnership with the Eugene Springfield Youth Orchestras and student musicians at Florence’s Siuslaw High School. World renowned Italian pianist Pompa-Baldi will hold master piano classes for select high school students, a mini-recital at Eugene Piano Academy, an independent music school and private classes for students aged 18 months to adult. He will also lead a discussion for adult piano students after the recital. Llewellyn and Pompa-Baldi have also scheduled performances at the Hult Center, April 17 and 18.