4200 Wisconsin Ave, NW PMB 106-137
Washington, D.C. 20016
(301) 654-8434

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Workshops / Critiques

Taken for Granted: Uncovering Grant Opportunities for Songwriters in the DC Metro Area
A discussion-based workshop led by Maureen Andary designed to help you make your creative dreams come true.

Date: Tuesday, May 18, 7:30pm
Location: The Lab at Convergence; 1801 N. Quaker Lane; Alexandria, VA 22302
Price: $25 for SAW Members, $30 for WAMA, NSAI, BMI and BSA Members,
$35 for General Public

WHY GRANTS ARE AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY: It's Not Just About the Money
Applying for a grant to further one’s musical ambitions can be a daunting task. Who is qualified? What is the best way for me to present my grant request? What are they looking for? These questions and more will be answered in this workshop.

There are many advantages to applying for a grant, besides the most obvious one of receiving funding to further your musical goals. The grant process gives you a more succinct understanding of your creative plans, forces you to create production schedules and budgets, and gets your name out to leaders in the arts communities. In this workshop you will receive the tools to best prepare you to apply for a grant to further your musical goals!

Covered in this workshop:

WHERE ARE THESE GRANTS and WHO IS ELIGIBLE: Our host, Maureen Andary, will provide you with a list of programs songwriters qualify for within each agency as well as other eligibility requirements.
- Government Grants
- DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
- Maryland State Arts Council
- Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County
- City of Rockville Cultural Arts Commission
- Prince Georges Arts Council
- Alexandria Commission for the Arts
- Arlington County Cultural Affairs Division
- Virginia Commission for the Arts
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Private/Non-Profit Organizations
- Cultural Development Corporation
- Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation
- Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

GRANT APPLICATION SAMPLE: Maureen will provide one of her grant applications and discuss what it’s like to work with Grants Officers.

SPECIFIC GRANT DEADLINES & WORKSHOP DATES

Maureen Andary's credentials include the following:
- 2008 Young Emerging Artist Program Grantee, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
- 2010 Young Emerging Artist Program Grantee, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
- 2010 Young Artist Program Community Arts, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
- 2010-2011 Strathmore Artist in Residence with her duo The Sweater Set
- Finalist, Jazz & Blues and Honorable Mention, Pop – 2009 Mid Atlantic Song Contest
- Finalist, 2008 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest
- 7 time Nominee, Washington Area Music Association Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Debut Recording.

Jumpstart Your Songwriting: A day of creative fun for all levels

Date: Saturday, June 12, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD
Workshop Leader: Cathy Fink
Tuition: $125 ($85 for members of The Writer’s Center, Songwriters’ Association of Washington (SAW) and Washington Area Music Association (WAMA). Register online at www.writer.org or by calling 301-654-8664.

Keep your songwriting going this summer with a batch of new ideas on finding topics to write about, writing methods, daily writing exercises and fine tuning your songs.
There will be 3 sections to the full day program: 1) Jump in and START with writing “mini songs” 2) 10 songwriting devices that help create a structure for your song. How can you make each song better both musically and lyrically? 3) Song circle and critique. Bring in your best and we’ll talk about making it even better. Bring your lunch, paper and pencil, rhyming dictionary if you have one and musical instrument if you’d like to.

Cathy Fink is a prolific songwriter with 2 GRAMMY Awards, 11 GRAMMY nominations and 50 awards from the Washington Area Music Association in bluegrass, folk and children’s music. She shares all her awards and recordings with Marcy Marxer. Cathy & Marcy maintain an active tour schedule as children’s/family performers and folk/roots/country/swing artists. Cathy’s song “Names” about the Aids Memorial Quilt was recorded by over 20 artists in several countries. She has won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and International Songwriting Contest. She writes songs in many styles for listeners of all ages. Cathy's skill as in instructor has been honed in 25 years of teaching at various music camps and workshops, including The Kennedy Center, Strathmore Music Center , Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and Carnegie Hall (Lewisburg, WV ).

SAW Song Xchange

The Song Xchange is a monthly songwriting workshop series, held on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

The idea is to bring a song-in-the-works to share with the group for constructive criticism. You can play your song live (a piano is available, and there are always guitars around), or bring a CD or tape to play on our boom box. You're encouraged to bring lyric sheets to distribute, too, which will be returned with comments in the margins. Even if you get substantial co-writer-quality input on your song from the group, the copyright remains exclusively yours.

Please come join us whether you have a song to share or not, everyone is invited!

Each month a Guest Artist hosts the first hour of the Xchange (see the SAW Calendar to see who the guest artist will be). The guest can lead a discussion about the songwriting process, offer a lesson, or actually write a song on the spot. Guest artists usually play three or four songs during their portion of the Xchange, and then help critique your songs-in-progress. There is no fee, but we pass a tip jar around for the Guest Artist.

The coordinators for the Xchange are Dan Grove and Paige Powell. For more info, call Paige at 703-671-4131 or 571-242-0716. If you'd like to be added to the email list announcing Guest Artists, drop a note to Dan at SongXchange@comcast.net.

Directions: The Lab at Convergence's address is 1819 N. Quaker Lane, Alexandria VA, at the intersection with Crestwood Drive. The Lab is a brick building facing Crestwood. It has no address on it, but 1781 Crestwood Drive pinpoints it in Google Maps. Map: http://tinyurl.com/5wnz9g. Take the Shirlington exit off of I-395 and follow the signs to Quaker Lane, then take the second left on Crestwood Drive. The Lab at Convergence is the first building on the left.