Common Fence Music Grant Key to 16th Season

By Chloe Thompson

The Common Fence Point Community Hall in Portsmouth will welcome a well-known gospel band and a showcase for local talent, thanks in part to a $1,500 grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

Common Fence Music, the nonprofit organization that hosts regular concerts at the hall, with a focus on folk music, and director Thomas Perrotti says the grant will help fund two specific performances in the 16th season of the organization.

Atwater-Donnelly’s Jerimoth Hill Project, a gospel band, will be performing later this season. According to its Web site, Jerimoth Hill was the winner of the Motif Music Awards this year. The band features a banjo, vocals, a fiddle and an autoharp, among other instruments.

Atwater-Donnelly is a husband-wife duo, well-known locally, that performs “traditional American and Celtic folk songs.” The performance will be April 18 next year.

“Atwater-Donnelly is a Rhode Island based band that has a regional but is developing a national presence,” Perrotti said. “We deeply respect the type of work that Atwater-Donnelly has done, and we would like to honor them.”

In addition, the money will also go toward an annual Gathering of Fiddlers and Fisherman, or “an open-mike tribute to the sea.” Perrotti said. About 12 groups normally perform. This season’s performance, next Jan. 17, will mark the 10th year of the Gathering. “When a performer asks for a gig, I want to be able to say something besides, ‘I’m sorry I have nothing to offer you,’ ” Perrotti said. “If I can get some help from [the state arts council] over the years, there’s a bunch of area players that are very serious about what they do, and they just need an opportunity.”

Both performances will be held at the Common Fence Music Community Hall, 833 Anthony Rd. in Portsmouth.

“They’re two shows representing local and regional talent,” Perrotti said. “There’s definitely a family crowd that comes to the fiddlers and musicians.”

The rest of the funding for the two performances will be raised by the center, since Perrotti said it received 38 percent of its requested grant money.

The director said one of the purposes of the center is to “fill in the gap” for arts-oriented after-school programs. “There’s a lot of talk about arts and music programs being cut out of curriculums,” he said.

Along with Common Fence Music, many other programs and organizations received grant money from the arts council. According to a press release, the grants totaled $832,977 to 109 applicants, ranging from $500 to nearly $24,000.

Other grants included the Rhode Island Wind Ensemble, Barrington ($2,500); the East Providence Heritage Days Inc. ($3,000); the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, based in East Providence ($87,000); the Newport County Development Council ($2,000); the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County ($2,000); Flicker Arts Collaborative in Newport ($3,500); Island Moving Company in Newport ($21,000); the Newport Art Museum ($23,567); Salve Regina University in Newport ($3,000); Swanhurst Chorus in Newport ($1,000), and Second Story Theatre in Warren ($1,000).

East

Bay cthompson@projo.com / (401) 277-7462

Originally published by Chloe Thompson, Journal Staff Writer.

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