Deadline: February 14, 2015
Applications are now open for the 2015 OneBeat Fellowship Program. OneBeat is a music exchange and incubator for music-based social entrepreneurship, where innovative musicians from around the world launch collaborative projects designed to make a positive impact on local and global communities. An initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, OneBeat is cultivating a groundbreaking international network of leading artistic, technological, and social innovators in music.
OneBeat brings musicians (ages 19-35) from around the world to the U.S. for one month each fall to collaboratively write, produce, and perform original music, and develop strategies for arts-based social engagement. OneBeat begins with an opening residency, when Fellows collaborate to create original material, record new musical ideas, and incubate their projects.
OneBeat fellows then go on tour, performing for a wide array of American audiences, collaborating with local musicians, and leading workshops with youth. In a closing residency, each OneBeat musician sets out their plans for the future, developing projects in their home countries linked to a mutually-reinforcing network of music-driven social enterprises.
Cost and Benefits
OneBeat is a FREE program (but not a paid gig).
- The OneBeat program covers all Fellows’ travel, transportation, food, and lodging.
- They also offer a modest stipend.
- While they are not able to pay performance fees, OneBeat offers Fellows a chance to create new material, establish lifelong musical partnerships and friendships, learn new marketable skills, tour the US, and develop professional connections.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be between 19-35 years old.
- Musicians from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply, with or without formal musical training.
- Applicants should be able to converse in and understand basic English, as it will be the common language of the OneBeat program.
- OneBeat Fellows must currently live full-time in one of the 40 eligible countries and territories. They also seek applicants who have not traveled extensively to the U.S. or have rarely performed in the U.S.
- Whenever possible, OneBeat Fellows should actively use email and be able to connect to the internet to participate in OneBeat website-based activities.
Other Criteria
- Musical Excellence – A high level of performance, composition, improvisational, production and/or technological skill. Ideally OneBeat musicians will be innovating stylistically, lyrically, or technologically within their musical worlds.
- Collaboration – Applicants’ willingness to reach across cultural and musical divides in creating original music or re-interpreting traditional music, while respecting the essence of each tradition. Applicants should be prepared to try new things musically.
- Social Engagement – Musicians who have used music to serve their communities or greater societies. This might consist of guiding young people in music education, addressing social or political issues through musical content, reviving dying musical traditions, and more.
Eligible Countries and Territories:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
For more information, visit OneBeat 2015.
