St. Louis jazz presenters get NEA stimulus funds

Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act recently passed by the U.S. Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts got additional funding to distribute to arts organizations across the country. Those funds are intended to help preserve jobs that otherwise might be threatened by the recession, and according to an item on the Post-Dispatch's Culture Club blog from classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller (and this report from the St. Louis Business Journal that was picked up by business magazine Portfolio), two St. Louis jazz presenters were able to get a taste of that sweet, sweet federal dough, which was funneled through the Missouri Arts Council.

Jazz St. Louis received $25,000, which will be used to help fund the salary of JSL education director Phil Dunlap and to support other education programs, said JSL's Kedra Tolson. Also, the Sheldon Arts Foundation, the educational affiliate of the Sheldon Concert Hall, snagged $50,000 from the NEA to support its various programs.