Bartlett Foundation Awards Grant to Choir Program

We are excited to announce that the Edward E. and Helen T. Bartlett Foundation has awarded Arts@302 with a $10,000 grant to expand our choir and other future music programs. This expansion includes a brand-new Yamaha CSP-170 digital piano and three sets of Wenger performance risers.

The grant will help us grow the 302 Children’s Choir, a select ensemble for 3rd-6th grade singers available to children of all school districts. The digital piano and risers will improve the educational experience of the children’s choir and help it become a core program of Arts@302 going forward. They also stand as the first investment towards a new middle and high school choir program tentatively scheduled for the fall of this year.

“School schedules are getting busier, church choirs are becoming rarer, and the homeschool community only continues to grow. We recognized the increasing need for empowering children through music, and we are so grateful to the Edward E. and Helen T. Bartlett Foundation for supporting that mission,” – Caleb Ricketts, founder of the 302 Children’s Choir.

Previously, the choir had rehearsed with an entry-level keyboard transported from the choir director’s home. The new model will offer performance quality sound, feel, and a wide variety of new sonic possibilities. The risers will give performances a much more professional look over simply standing on the floor. Both will benefit the choir as well as other programs such as Kristin Chenoweth’s Artists of Promise.

The 302 Children’s Choir will perform on Saturday, April 15th at the Tulsa PAC’s Orbit Arts Festival, and on Tuesday, May 2nd at our Student Gallery Night.