The orchestra set up its own fundraiser instead.
According to the NEA email, its grantmaking policy priorities were being updated"to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President.
Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities." The message added that Trump's priorities are topics like AI,"the 250th anniversary of American independence" and empowering houses of worship.from the NEH noted that the agency "has cancelled awards that are at variance with agency priorities, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion and environmental justice."that the loss of NEH funding was devastating to the organization and that Colorado Humanities was in danger of closing., which is under the state Office of Economic Development. While the money is matched by CCI, the grant is funded by the NEA, which means the CCI monies are beholden to the rules of the NEA, says DPO executive director Roger Haak. While DPO very much appreciates the work CCI is doing for Colorado, Haak says, he found that the restrictions provided by the NEA would dilute DPO's current language around equity, diversity, inclusion and access. "We welcome everybody; however, knowing that classical music itself as an institution is viewed as elitist, it makes it difficult to reach out to communities that otherwise don’t feel that they are welcome to the orchestra," Haak explains."We want to make sure that in our language, we’re able to authentically welcome everybody and all walks of life." Haak says that DPO feared being audited, having funds taken away or even facing criminal proceedings if it accepted the Colorado Creates grant and didn't comply with NEA's requirements for language, policy and procedural adjustments. He adds that DPO also wanted to stand by other local organizations that lost their NEA funding or will no longer have the opportunity to apply for it. Instead of accepting the CCI grant, DPO has set up its own fundraiser to raise the $8,000. Thanks to an anonymous donor who stepped up to match the first $3,000 in donations, Haak says DPO was able to raise $6,000 in the first two and a half hours that the fundraiser was live; donations are still being accepted "I think people in our community and people who know who we are and what we stand for share these same values and understand the urgency of what’s going on here and why classical music is valuable to the community at the price range and availability that we provide it," Haak says, adding that DPO tickets are never more expensive than $30. In addition to discounts for seniors, students, first responders and health-care workers, DPO also offers 100 pay-what-you-can tickets for every concert, in which the tickets start as low as $1, to serve people undergoing financial hardship.to get classical music recordings to individuals who were formerly incarcerated, and providing tickets to individuals who were formerly incarcerated," Haak adds."There are studies that show the recidivism rate goes from 60 percent to 3 percent when provided access to the arts. We’re taking a stand on how we can serve everyone in our community."for its musicians. The organization has a history of being inclusive and forward-thinking."We were founded by Antonia Brico, the first woman to conduct the New York Philharmonic," Haak says, adding that she was"a woman in the 1940s, trying to be a conductor and being turned away and discriminated against solely because of her gender. So much of what we’re doing with this $8,000 challenge is knowing the life she lived and the walk she walked and wanting to honor her memory.". Westword may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2025 Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
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