Statements

Mission

ALIAS is a nonprofit chamber ensemble with a mission dedicated to an innovative repertoire, artistic excellence, and a desire to give back to the community. Its wide-ranging repertoire brings Nashville audiences a mix of chamber music that cannot be heard anywhere else. The core values embodied by the organization's mission and everyone involved with ALIAS include innovation, quality, serving the community and collaboration. All activities seek to fulfill these values.

Background

Grammy-nominated ALIAS Chamber Ensemble formed in the fall of 2002 when a group of Nashville musicians, already well-known as professional orchestra players and teachers, set out to perform chamber music on their own terms. With a new artistic identity, they quickly won praise by performing outstanding repertoire and donating their time and proceeds to carefully selected local charities. ALIAS is a group of 12 musicians who are full time members of the Nashville Symphony and/or faculty members at Vanderbilt or Belmont University. The musicians continue to donate their services to the concerts, one-third of which are held at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, and 100% of concert proceeds fund the ALIAS in the Community programs. Prior to 2016, ALIAS collaborated with over 40 nonprofit organizations, donating approximately $50,000 to these organizations. To date, ALIAS has presented nearly 40 world premieres at these performances. ALIAS also has a strong commitment to collaborating with other arts groups -- in addition to the regular concert seasons, ALIAS has performed with the Nashville Opera, the Nashville Ballet, Vox Grata Women's Choir, and the acclaimed vocal group Portara Ensemble. ALIAS has received 7 "Best of Nashville" awards from the Nashville Scene and was also the first recipient of the Business in Acumen award presented at the Salute to Excellence by the Center for Nonprofit Management. In 2012, ALIAS released its second CD, 'Boiling Point', featuring chamber works of Kenji Bunch. The CD hit the Top 100 Billboard classical chart at 76 in its first week of release. ALIAS' first CD, 'Hilos', featuring chamber works of Gabriela Lena Frank, received a Grammy nomination in 2011. The ensemble's third CD - works by Pulitzer-winning composer Paul Moravec - was released in January of 2016. 'Rhythms Rivers & Roads' - a collection of 4 world premieres from 3 Nashville composers, inspired by the natural and manmade landscapes of Tennessee - was released in February 2019. Funding for ALIAS projects primarily comes from individual donations and grants, including the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Metro Arts Commission, the Martha and Bronson Ingram Foundation, the Memorial Foundation, the HCA Foundation, the Frist Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Impact

ALIAS Chamber Ensemble continues to build on a tradition of providing Nashville with innovative new music and immersive cultural experiences. In the 2017/18 season ALIAS presented Unbounded Creativity, a concert series featuring music written by immigrant composers. The music presented included compositions by Bright Sheng, Mohammed Fairouz, Ola Gjeilo, Yotam Haber, Irving Berlin, Bela Bartok, Karim Al-Zand and more. Concerts in this series also included a spoken word element, with poems curated and read by local poets Amy Jackson and Stephanie Pruitt. After each concert, guests were invited to a reception with food provided by local immigrant business owners. The ALIAS in the Community program (AIC) continues to focus on giving back to the community by providing a unique music experience for audiences who may not otherwise be exposed to chamber ensemble work. In the summer of 2018, ALIAS musicians presented 6 days of programming to scholars at the Nashville Freedom School Partnership, once one of our nonprofit partners from our concert season. In Fall 2018, AIC continued a monthly program at Whitsitt Elementary School to provide an ongoing, in depth program for Whitsitt students. ALIAS also offered its first free Community Preview Concert in Fall 2017, partnering with FiftyForward, Conexion Americas, Congregation Micah, and Music for Seniors to provide an innovative concert experience for the communities they serve. More than ten years after ALIAS' incorporation as a non-profit, the organization has a proven track record for sustained, incremental growth. With the foundation of a dedicated and involved Board of Directors, ALIAS has increased community awareness and achieved local, regional and national recognition for artistic excellence. The goals for the current year are to: Increase funding for programs and operations through corporate and foundation support, individual donations, and board development Grow our engagement with the community through our concerts. We have reached a wider section of the communtiy through our 2018/19 concerts which took place at Christ Church Cathedral and Congregation Micah, and we will be expanding to a new venue in the spring. Further develop our AIC programs to increase engagements with diverse audiences. All proceeds from concerts will continue to support our educational and community programming.

Needs

Our top 5 most pressing needs for the coming year are toIncrease our foundational support for existing programs, especially AICGrow our individual and corporate contributions Increase our community engagement and our social media presence Develop and expand our board of directors Create an advisory board.

CEO Statement

I am proud to work with ALIAS because I believe it represents the best aspects of Nashville, the pursuit of artistic excellence, the embrace of curiosity and learning, and a true 'Volunteer' spirit of giving back to the community. The root of ALIAS is in the friendship of a small group of musicians, who wanted to find a way to share the music that they love with the residents of Middle Tennessee, while helping their community. Through our outreach programs, we have the unique opportunity to foster a lasting relationship with our partners, impacting the communities they serve more deeply by return visits featuring varied and engaging arts programming. In a city that embraces innovation and entrepreneurship, ALIAS is a shining example of a truly creative model for an arts organization.

Board Chair Statement

ALIAS has very successfully achieved its mission of bringing a broad range of chamber music to a growing Nashville audience, of providing a unique educational outreach program every year to hundreds of students and adults, and of financially supporting other area nonprofits. As part of that mission, we have commissioned many new works and produced three CDs -- resulting in a Grammy nomination. But we want to go further and expand our outreach programs and commission even more new compositions. In 2016, we instituted our ALIAS in the Community program so that we can deepen our relationship with and impact on community organizations. As with many nonprofits, our biggest challenge is fund-raising, so the board has recommitted itself to obtaining the financial foundation for ALIAS to achieve these expansion goals. As board president, I am honored to be part of this exciting phase of ALIAS' growth!

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Music
Secondary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Arts Education
Tertiary Category:	-

Areas Served

ALIAS performs primarily in Nashville/Davidson County, with recent years including concerts in Brentwood/Williamson County, but the audience comes from surrounding counties as well. Through CDs and broadcast programs, we are also able to reach beyond our immediate geographic area.

TN - Williamson

TN - Davidson