Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras (GCTYO) is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to receive a Challenge America award of $10,000. This grant will provide funding to GCTYO to continue its work on breaking down barriers to entry into the youth orchestra organization and facilitating paths to success for children from communities that have been historically excluded from classical music and high quality music education. The grant is one of 262 competitive Challenge America awards totaling $2.62 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.