Post on 07-Nov-2021
RobertsFOUNDATION
The Edward C.& Ann T.
200 7AN N UAL R E PORT
It was business-as-usual (in a good way) for the
Foundation’s grantmaking in 2007 with the grants
budget up slightly to $316,000. In other
respects, it was a year of major and minor
milestones for the 43-year-old Foundation.
Smaller milestones included the 5th anniversary
of the Creation of New Work Initiative and
executive director Elizabeth Normen’s 10th
anniversary with the Foundation. The major
milestone was the retirement of Jan Larsen after
26 years of service on the board.
Nearly $100,000 has been awarded in the
Creation of New Work Initiative’s first five years to
eleven artists and eight organizations. The two
CNW projects awarded funding for 2007
produced wonderful new works by composer/
musicians Steve Davis and David Macbride.
Steve Davis’s Hartford Suite opened the 2007
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz. Davis described
the process of composing the work, a multi-move-
ment piece inspired by Hartford’s people and
places, in the Hartford Courant (July 19, 2007):
After being commissioned by the Edward C.
and Ann T. Roberts Foundation to compose
the suite, Davis let ideas percolate in his
head for a couple of months. By May, the
globetrotting sideman was touring Europe
with the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star
Big Band. Composing was virtually
impossible. “Finally in June, I had 10 days
off here at home…. Once I was home,
it was like an avalanche. In seven or eight
days, I wrote eight tunes, about one a day.
The Suite…is my way of expressing my
gratitude to the community—particularly to
the Hartford jazz community and all the
people who come out to jazz events
in Hartford.
David Macbride was inspired to compose No Mas
Muertes! (No More Deaths!) by the artistry of the
Alturas Duo (Carlos Boltes, viola; Scott Hill,
guitar) and the words of Luis Alberto Urrea’s The
Devil’s Highway, a book about the deaths from
dehydration of undocumented immigrants in the
Arizona dessert. Macbride composed the work
specifically for Alturas Duo and included spoken
word drawn from The Devil’s Highway. The new
work was performed on November 10, 2007 at
Trinity-On-Main in a concert that featured three
other compositions by Macbride (performed by
the Quey Percussion Duo and Adaskin String
Trio) followed by a set by son Jimmy Macbride and
his quartet, also featuring Jimmy Greene, Earl
MacDonald, and Stephen Porter, with guest (and
Macbride daughter) Alma on piano and saxo-
phone. An adjacent exhibition space showcased
drawings by artist Lisa Macbride, David’s wife.
It was a singular event showcasing not only the
talents of the Macbride family but also the talents
of the Quey Percussion Duo, Adaskin String Trio,
Alturas Duo, and the Jimmy Macbride Quartet.
Janet M. Larsen completed her final term on the
board in December 2007. Jan joined the
Foundation in 1981 when Ann “Sunny” Roberts
was still actively involved. She was the last board
member to have known Mrs. Roberts personally.
When Mrs. Roberts’s health began to decline, Jan
became vice president (in 1986) and assumed
the presidency after Mrs. Roberts’s death in
1991. Jan stepped down as president in 1999,
continuing on the board as a regular member.
Jan led the foundation during a period of rapid
growth. The foundation’s assets and grants
budget grew significantly due to an infusion of
funds from Mrs. Roberts’s bequest and a strong
stock market in the 1990s. Under Jan’s leader-
ship, the Foundation offered a major one-time
Board of Trustees for 2007:
Magrieta L. Willard President
Thomas J. Groark, Jr.Secretary
Pierre GuertinTreasurer
H. Alex Vance, Jr.Chair, Investment Committee
Janet M. Larsen
Olivia WhiteArts Representative
Joyce Willis
Elizabeth J. NormenExecutive Director
RobertsFOUNDATION
The Edward C.& Ann T.
Creation of New Work 2007
Board Bids a Reluctant Farewell
grant opportunity in 1997, The Roberts Project, to
honor the foundation’s donors. Arts organizations
were invited to apply for a significant purpose
or goal which they had been unable to undertake
or fund.
In May 1997, the Foundation awarded two Roberts
Project grants, the largest program grants it had
ever made. One hundred thousand dollars each
was awarded to the Hartford Stage to initiate a
new plays festival, and to a collaboration of the
Hartt School, Hartford Art School, and School of
the Hartford Ballet to launch a center for younger
leadership in the arts. In announcing the Roberts
Project grants, Jan noted, “In selecting these
exciting new programs, we honor the generous
spirit of Ned and Sunny Roberts whose lives were
filled with a love of the arts and whose deepest
hopes were for the future vitality of the arts in our
community. These programs are designed to
encourage both young and established artists to
pursue their artistic vision and share it with the
community.” Hartford Stage continues today, a
decade later, to hold Brand:New, a festival
highlighting new plays, launched with Roberts
Project funding.
The Foundation expresses its deepest
appreciation to Jan for her long dedication to the
Roberts Foundation and its mission to support and
encourage excellence in the arts in the Greater
Hartford community.
The Foundation welcomed Pierre Guertin, who will
serve as treasurer, and Olivia White, the
foundation’s arts representative for 2007-2008, to
the board at the beginning of 2007. In December,
John Alves was elected and welcomed to
the board.
Robert Sella in HartfordStage’s production of
“Chick, The Great Osram.”Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
…and Welcomes New Members
The Mort and Irma HandelPerforming Arts Centerunder construction. TheRoberts Foundation BlackBox Theater is on the rightoff the main lobby (above)
and juts through the roof(above left).
Photo: University of Hartford
left: Steve Davis performing“The Hartford Suite,” a2007 Roberts FoundationCreation of New Work project, at the GreaterHartford Festival of Jazz.Photo: Steven Sussman,www.Sussman Photography.com
Excellence in the Arts Grants, Program:
Ballet Theatre CompanyProduction support for 2007 concert $3,000
Capital Classics
Production support for 2007 summer Shakespeare Festival $3,000
Charter Oak Cultural Center
Dance at Charter Oak $5,500
Community Partners in Action
Equipment for Prison Art Program $2,500
CONCORA
Partial season production support, spring 2008 $4,000
Connecticut Ballet
Production support for Sleeping Beauty
at the Belding Theater $7,500
Connecticut Guitar Society
Production support for Guitar Masters series $5,000
Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra
Production support for 2007-2008 season at
Trinity-On-Main $5,000
Cultural Dance Troupe of the West Indies
Production support for 2008 Cultural Spectacular $5,000
Friends of Elizabeth Park
Production support for summer 2007 concert series $2,000
Full Force Dance Theatre
Production support for 2007 concert $3,000
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz
Production support for 2007 jazz festival $7,500
HartBeat Ensemble
Production support for The Pueblo $5,000
Hartford Children's Theater
Production support for Mainstage Series $5,000
Hartford Chorale
Support for professional core singers $5,000
Hartford Jazz Society
Production support for Jazz at the Atheneum series $5,000
Hartford Stage
Production support for Chick, The Great Osram $25,000
Hartford Symphony
Production support for the Family Matinee series $25,000
Lift Every Voice & Sing
Production support for 2007 gospel festival $3,000
Mark Twain House
Conservation of paintings & works on paper $12,500
Judy Dworin Performance Project
Production support for The Witching Hour $5,000
National Theatre of the Deaf
Hartford-area performances of Little Theatre of the Deaf $5,000
New Britain Symphony
Production support for 2007-2008 concert series $2,500
Oil Drum Art, Inc.
Support for exhibition at ArtSpace $3,000
Pilobolus
Support for creation of a new work,
The Persistence of Memory $7,500
Real Art Ways
Support for a public art project in the Frog Hollow
and Parkville Neighborhoods in Hartford $12,500
Riverfront Recapture, Inc.
Production support for 2007 Opera al Fresco $5,000
Studio of Electronic Music
Production support for 2008 concert series $2,000
Trinity On Main
Production support for their Avery Ensemble
concert series $2,500
Wadsworth Atheneum
Support for the What Lies Beneath exhibition $25,000
West Indian Foundation
Support for an exhibition of works by Michael Escoffrey $5,000
Woodland Concert Series
Production support for a Vaughan Williams concert $2,500
Capital/Major:
Artists Collective
Final distribution of a $30,000 grant
for building repairs $15,000
Connecticut Science Center
1st distribution of $25,000 grant for public art $7,500
Hill-Stead Museum
2nd distribution on a $50,000 grant for a major
book on Hill-Stead $15,000
New Britain Museum of American Art
Final distribution on a $50,000 grant for print/works
-on-paper study room $12,500
University of Hartford
1st distribution of $100,000 grant to Hartt's new
performing arts center $25,000
Creation of New Work 2007:(Awarded 2006, distributed 2007)
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz
The Hartford Suite by Steve Davis $12,500
Trinity On Main
No Mas Muertes by David Macbride $12,500
Creation of New Work 2008:
(Awarded 2007, to be distributed 2008)
Real Art Ways
New work by Hirokazu Fukawa, $12,500
Total Disbursed in 2007: $316,000
Statements of Support, Revenue, Expenses,
and Other Changes in Net Assets, Modified Cash Basis
For the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006
Changes in operating net assets:
Revenues:
Interest & dividends $ 250,349 $ 197,152
Net realized & unrealized
gains on securities 375,326 909,696
625,675 1,106,848
Expenses:
Grants 316,000 300,000
Administrative 88,642 82,211
Excise tax payment net 17,698 11,772
422,340 393,983
Changes in net assets: 203,335 712,865
Net assets,
beginning of the year 8,116,985 7,404,120
Net assets,
end of the year: $ 8,320,320 $ 8,116,985
2007 2006
The Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation
is a private, special purpose foundation.
In accordance with the founders’ wishes, its purpose
is to support and encourage excellence in the arts.
The Foundation focuses its giving in Hartford,
Connecticut and theimmediately surrounding area.
Deadlines are February 1, May 1, August 1, and
November 1 for Excellence in the Arts grants and
September 1 for the Creation
of New Work Initiative.
RobertsFOUNDATION
The Edward C.& Ann T.
P. O. Box 271588
West Hartford, CT 06127-1588
Judy Dworin Performance Project’s “TheWitching Hour.” Photo: Nick Lacy
Guidelines and information on
the application process are available
from The Foundation by calling
(860) 233-0228 or on the Web at
http://foundationcenter.org
/grantmaker/e&aroberts.
RobertsFOUNDATION
ConnecticutBallet’s “Sleeping
Beauty” performedat the Belding
Theater. Photo: Ben Gancsos
Lorena Garay performingin HartBeat Ensemble’s
original play, “The Pueblo.”Photo: Larry Bilanski
Pilobolus’s new duet, “Persistence of Memory,” funded in part by a Roberts Foundation grant. Photo: Jun Kuribayashi, courtesy of Pilobolus
“In selecting these exciting new programs, we honor the generous
spirit of Ned and Sunny Roberts whose lives were filled with a love
of the arts and whose deepest hopes were for the future vitality of the
arts in our community.” Janet M. Larsen, 1997, announcing the Roberts Project grants
RobertsFOUNDATION
The Edward C.& Ann T.