OneBeat Virtual – Application Opportunity (Deadline: March 10, 2021; 5:00 PM EST)

OneBeat is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the groundbreaking New York-based music organization Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation, OneBeat employs collaborative original music as a potent new form of cultural diplomacy.

OneBeat announces an exciting new series of virtual exchanges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. OneBeat Virtual will digitally convene 70 musicians from up to 44 countries and territories in two separate virtual exchanges taking place July 12 – September 6, 2021 and September 20 – November 17, 2021. Each program will offer a fully virtual residency and exchange program with musicians from around the globe. Over the course of 8-weeks, OneBeat Virtual Fellows will investigate new forms of virtual collaboration, form ensembles to write, produce, and perform genre-defying work, attend virtual masterclasses, lead online workshops, and produce a streaming concert for the public. Fellows will also have the opportunity to pursue self-directed projects during the Fellowship. These projects will address a particular community and focus on community engagement. We encourage the development of projects that explore innovations within a particular field of arts engagement, digital media, or technology.

Fellows will receive a $1,500 USD honorarium as well as small subsidy for purchasing necessary audio equipment and enhanced internet connectivity. Each selected
musician will participate in 1 exchange. We are seeking applicants who excel in the following areas:

Musical Excellence & Innovation – A high level of performance, composition, improvisational, production and/or technological skill.
Social Engagement – Musicians who have used music to serve their communities or greater societies. This might consist of guiding young people in music education, addressing social-political issues, reviving dying musical traditions, etc.
Collaboration – Applicants’ willingness to reach across cultural and musical divides in creating original music or re-interpreting traditional music, while respecting the essence of each tradition.