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State of California Department of Justice
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
Attorney General
Sacramento - Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and the California Arts Council today announced that 42 local arts organizations will be awarded $549,000 to present free or inexpensive public concerts throughout California with funds obtained from a 2003 anti-trust settlement.
“Music has a universal appeal, bringing people together and creating a community spirit,” Brown said. “Through these concerts, we hope to bring a small measure of joy into local communities and encourage cultural development.”
“The California Arts Council is delighted to have partnered with the Attorney General’s Office to provide the state’s citizens with the opportunity to experience the joy of live performances from California’s many genres of music,” said Muriel Johnson, Director of the California Arts Council.
In 2003, the Attorney General’s office settled an antitrust case against five of the country’s largest music CD distributors and three national retail chains. The suit contended that the defendants entered illegal agreements with each other to set minimum advertised prices on music CDs.
After the settlement was approved by the courts, 665,000 music CDs worth $9 million were distributed to public schools, colleges and libraries. Restitution in the amount of $13.86 was awarded to California consumers who filed claims. After the settlement was distributed, $549,000 remained, which was given to the California Arts Council to establish a one-time music grant program.
The California Arts Council has carefully reviewed over 160 applications. Forty-two non-profit organizations from 39 California counties have been selected. The award-winning, non-profit arts organizations follow:
Alameda County
$15,000 to EastSide Arts Alliance of Oakland for performances during an annual jazz-arts festival.
Butte County
$15,000 to CSU Chico University Public Events for free and discounted tickets for youth to attend mariachi performances.
Calaveras County
$15,000 to Calaveras Arts for free concerts in public parks of classical, Latin and other styles of music.
Contra Costa County
$15,000 to Los Cenzontles of San Pablo for free and discounted access to Mexican, Latin, jazz and bluegrass performances.
Del Norte County
$8,000 to Del Norte Association for discounted tickets to San Jose Taiko performances at the Crescent Elk Middle School in Crescent City.
El Dorado County
$15,000 to El Dorado Arts Council to offer free or discounted admission to high school students for the Coloma blues live performances.
Fresno County
$15,000 to Hmong Cultural Heritage Center of Fresno for free performances of traditional Hmong music in Merced, Modesto, Visalia and Tulare.
$15,000 to California Autoharp Gathering of Dunlap for free public performances at local public schools.
Humboldt County
$10,875 to Ink People Center for the Arts of Eureka for free performances of theatrical and experimental music.
Inyo County
$15,000 to Inyo Council for the Arts of Bishop for free Latin music performances.
Kern County
$15,000 to Arts Council of Kern to provide access and discounts to various jazz, bluegrass, Celtic and Latin musical performances.
Lassen County
$7,633 to Lassen County Arts Council of Susanville for free and discounted performances in world, guitar and Mexican swing music.
Los Angeles County
$15,000 to Loyola Marymount University for free admission for sacred-music programs.
Marin County
$15,000 to Golden Gate Opera of Marin County for a free school performance and discounted tickets to attend Madame Butterfly at the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium.
Mendocino County
$4,400 to Gualala Arts for free performances of mariachi and folklore dance.
Mono County
$15,000 to Mono Council for the Arts of Mammoth Lakes for discounted or free tickets to schools for Native American flute, blues and Latin performances.
Monterey County
$15,000 to First Night Monterey for free Latin jazz musical performances in the city of Greenfield.
Napa County
$15,000 to Napa Valley Opera House for school performances by touring musicians.
Nevada County
$6,950 to Nevada County Composers Coalition of the Sierra Foothills for free performances of new and contemporary music at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.
Orange County
$15,000 to Hope University of Fullerton for discounted tickets for contemporary and experimental music featuring artists with developmental disabilities.
Plumas County
$15,000 to Plumas Arts of Quincy for discounted tickets to music performances and school Taiko drumming instruction.
Riverside County
$15,000 to Performance Riverside for free and discounted tickets, as well as the underwriting of bus transportation for school groups to opera performances.
Sacramento County
$15,000 to La Raza Galeria Posada for free and discounted admission to a popular Latin rock concert.
San Bernardino County
$2,600 to CSU San Bernardino for free admission and discounted tickets for brass chamber music performances.
San Diego County
$13,545 to Guitars in the Classroom for free guitar performances.
San Francisco County
$15,000 to Chinese Cultural Center to support the Chinatown Music Festival and its free music performances of traditional, contemporary and experimental music.
$15,000 to Cultural Odyssey for free presentation of jazz in San Francisco and Northern California.
San Joaquin County
$15,000 to Stockton Symphony of Stockton for free performances during Hispanic Heritage Month.
San Luis Obispo County
$15,000 to San Luis Obispo Symphony for discounted and free tickets for a Latin music concert.
Santa Barbara County
$15,000 to The Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara for free mariachi performances for school-age children.
Santa Clara County
$14,000 to Santa Clara University for free performances by the Santa Clara University Chamber Singers in collaboration with the San Jose Symphonic Choir.
Santa Cruz County
$15,000 to Santa Cruz County Symphony for free classical music performances for schools and discounted tickets to family performances.
Shasta County
$15,000 to Shasta County Arts Council for free rock, Latin, Latin rock and blues concerts
Siskiyou County
$6,500 to Siskiyou Arts Council of Mt. Shasta for a touring program of Taiko performances.
$9,605 to Red Scarf Society of Yreka for free concerts of Western vocal music at the Siskiyou County Golden Fair.
Solano County
$15,000 to Solano Community Symphony for free public performances of family-friendly symphonic music, big band and musical theatre.
Sonoma County
$15,000 to American Philharmonic-Sonoma County for free classical music concerts at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.
Stanislaus County
$15,000 to Modesto Symphony Orchestra for free symphony performances on Friday afternoons.
Tehama County
$4,600 to State Theatre for the Arts of Red Bluff for discounted admission to music concerts.
Ventura County
$15,000 to Ventura Music Festival for free Latin music concerts for incarcerated youth.
Yolo County
$15,000 to Yolo County Arts Council of Woodland for discounted family tickets to blues, rock, and Scottish musical performances.
Yuba and Sutter Counties
$11,000 to Yuba-Sutter Regional Arts Council for discounted performances of lyric opera.
The performances will begin after November 1, 2009.