National Endowment for the Arts

We are deeply disappointed to share that the National Endowment for the Arts has rescinded the grant awarded to Princeton University Concerts in November in support of our Healing with Music series. We were informed that, due to updated funding priorities, our project no longer aligns with current guidelines.

This grant—our first-ever from the NEA—was designated for a series of programs that have already taken place: initiatives designed to explore the role of music in moments of societal unrest and personal trauma, to celebrate multicultural musical friendships, and to offer space for reflection through Live Music Meditation. Each of these programs was created with the belief that music is not only an artistic expression, but a necessary force for healing, connection, and social understanding.

It is alarming to witness a retreat from public investment in the arts—especially when those investments affirm the arts as vital to a compassionate, inclusive, and civically engaged society. Music is not ancillary to our shared human experience; it is at its center.

We are concerned not only for our own institution, but for the many artists and organizations whose work—and whose audiences—depend on federal cultural support. As funding priorities shift to align with broader political agendas, we risk losing the voices, stories, and experiences that help us make sense of the world and each other.

In this moment, we reaffirm our commitment to the values that shaped Healing with Music, and we invite our community to do the same. Let us continue to champion the arts—not as luxuries, but as essential to our collective well-being. Artists, organizations, and audiences alike have a role to play. Please continue to support the institutions that bring meaning and beauty to your life, that serve your community, and that will be essential in helping us rebuild in the wake of this ongoing upheaval.