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WESTFIELD CENTER FOR HISTORICAL KEYBOARD STUDIES
ITHACA, NY · EIN 222553787 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · Small ($100K-$1M) · westfield.org
revenue
$140K
expenses
$59K
net assets
$355K
employees
—
mission · from form 990

EARLY KEYBOARD MUSIC STUDY

profile · synthesized from sources

The Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies promotes the study and performance of early keyboard music through academic conferences, summer academies, and performance festivals. It serves scholars, performers, and instrument builders interested in historical keyboards such as the fortepiano, harpsichord, and organ. The organization operates primarily in the United States, with events hosted at universities and cultural institutions, and supports research through grants and publications.

named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

Forte|Piano Summer Academy
Annual summer program offering training in historical keyboard performance, chamber music, and piano technology.
Keyboard Perspectives
Annual yearbook publishing scholarly work on historical keyboard instruments and performance practices.
Sustaining Keyboards Symposium
Gathering focused on the preservation, restoration, and continued use of historical keyboard instruments.
The Sociable Fortepiano
Academy exploring the social and cultural role of the fortepiano in historical contexts, focusing on its function in domestic and public life.
Westfield International Competitions
Series of competitions for organ, harpsichord, and fortepiano, including performance academies for emerging artists.
Westfield Newsletter
Quarterly publication disseminating news, research, and event announcements in the field of early keyboard studies.
activities · 9 groups

What they do

  • Artist Support Grants 2 activities
    • Funding research and creative projects in historical keyboard studies
      Provides grants for research and creative initiatives in historical keyboard studies, including funding for the cultural history of the pedal harmonium in western India, digitization of Ethiopian composer Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru’s recordings, a new song cycle by composer Trevor Weston based on Ignatius Sancho’s writings, and a hybrid harpsichord-piano performance program exploring intercultural influences in Western music.
    • Funding scholarly and creative projects in keyboard studies with a focus on diversity and inclusion
      Offers an annual $1,500 grant to support scholarly or creative projects in the keyboard field that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, funding research and artistic works that broaden representation in the field.
  • Musicological Research and Scholarly Editions 2 activities
    • Publishing scholarly books and revised historical works on keyboard instruments
      Produces and publishes scholarly monographs and revised editions on historical keyboard topics, including a two-volume work on organ builder Charles Brenton Fisk, a volume honoring Harald Vogel, and updated editions of foundational texts on organ building incorporating new research.
    • Publishing scholarly research in Keyboard Perspectives and related journals
      Produces and publishes Keyboard Perspectives, an annual, peer-reviewed academic yearbook featuring scholarly articles, interviews, and reviews on historical keyboard studies, including performance practice, instrument restoration, and interdisciplinary research. Issues are distributed to members and made partially available open access through Cornell eCommons.
  • Membership Program Administration 1 activity
    • Administering membership and donation processing
      Accepts online monetary donations and processes membership registrations through a web-based system, offering members benefits such as discounted event registration and a complimentary copy of the journal Keyboard Perspectives.
  • Psychoanalytic and Therapeutic Training Support 1 activity
    • Awarding the Barbara Owen Research Grant for scholarly research
      Offers and awards an annual $2,000 Barbara Owen Research Grant to support scholarly research in historical keyboard studies, established to honor Barbara Owen and previously awarded for projects such as "Chinoiserie at the Keys."
  • Music Education and Training Programs 1 activity
    • Organizing Concert Scholar, a concert tour program for young artists
      Runs the Concert Scholar program, which organizes concert tours for emerging artists specializing in historical keyboard performance, providing performance opportunities and professional development.
  • Professional Conference & Symposium Organization 1 activity
    • Organizing conferences, workshops, and educational programs on historical keyboard studies
      Presents festivals, conferences, workshops, masterclasses, symposia, and educational programs related to historical keyboard instruments, including events such as the four-day "Blending Past and Present: Collections and Collectors" conference in Oberlin, Ohio, in 2019. These programs feature performances, lectures, and interactive discussions for scholars, performers, and the public.
  • Classical and Chamber Music Performances 1 activity
    • Producing and touring the Festival Organ interactive exhibition
      Operated and toured the "Festival Organ: The King of Instruments" interactive exhibition, which featured hands-on components such as bellows, keys, and valves, organ pipe displays, public recitals, lectures, and community collaborations. The exhibition was presented at eleven sites across the United States and Canada between 1995 and 2000, reaching thousands of people.
  • Organizational Newsletter Production and Distribution 1 activity
    • Publishing and distributing newsletters on keyboard studies
      Produces and distributes the newsletter Westfield (formerly Early Keyboard Studies Newsletter) two to four times per year, containing news, essays, interviews, and event announcements relevant to historical keyboard studies.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Producing and distributing educational materials on the organ and keyboard history
      Produces print and digital educational resources, including a fold-out timeline of the organ’s 2600-year history and educational booklets on the organ’s technical, cultural, and historical aspects, originally developed for public exhibitions and distributed to support public understanding.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$140K
Contributions & grants$20K14%
Program service revenue——
Investment income$2K1%
Other revenue—
expenses
Total expenses$59K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits—
Grants paid out—
balance sheet
Total assets$355K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$355K
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +382.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 10
  • ALEXANDER MESZLER — Director
  • ISABELLE DEMERS — Director
  • KATHRYN STUART — Director
  • NATHAN LAUBE — Director
  • PAMELA RUITER-FEENSTRA — Director
  • PATRICIA GARCIA GIL — Director
  • ROGER MOSELEY — Director
  • TIFFANY NG — Director
  • TOM BEGHIN — Director
  • ULRIKA DAVIDSSON — Director
relationships · 22

Who they work with

  • Artist Migration Partner — Collaborates with awardee Yunyi Ji on a performance program exploring intercultural influences in Western music.
  • Cornell University Government — Hosts the Center's offices and employs the Executive Director as University Organist
  • Cornell University Partner — Hosted multiple Westfield Center conferences and academies, including Forte|Piano and Sustaining Keyboards events.
  • Cornell University Partner — Partners with Cornell University to host select open-access articles through its eCommons digital repository.
  • Eastman School of Music Partner — Co-sponsored multiple events including the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) festivals and conferences.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Funder — Provided a major grant for the creation of the Festival Organ exhibition.
  • Oberlin Conservatory Partner — Hosted the Westfield Center's 2019 conference "Blending Past and Present: Collections and Collectors" and provided access to the Frederick R. Selch Collection of American Music History.
  • Oberlin Conservatory of Music Partner — Co-sponsored the 2019 Blending Past and Present conference and the 2002 Cavaillé-Coll in Oberlin event.
  • Pacific Lutheran University Partner — Collaborated on the 1999 Organ in the New Millenium symposium.
  • Pipedreams Partner — Collaborates with the public radio program Pipedreams, featuring its host as a contributor to Westfield publications.
  • RILM Partner — Collaborates with RILM for abstract standards in journal publications.
  • Saint Cecilia Cathedral Partner — Co-sponsored the 2005 symposium on The Organ as Mirror of Religion & Culture.
  • Smithsonian Institution Partner — Collaborated on the 1995 Schubert’s Piano Music symposia in Washington, D.C.
  • Syracuse University Partner — Co-sponsored the 2016 Improvising Polyphony event and the 2019 Syracuse Legacies Organ Conference.
  • United Stateless Partner — Collaborates with awardee Yunyi Ji on a performance program with contemporary advocacy components related to immigrant rights.
  • University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance Partner — Co-sponsored the 2022 Diversity and Belonging: Unsung Keyboard Stories event.
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln Partner — Co-sponsored the 2005 symposium on The Organ as Mirror of Religion & Culture.
  • University of Oregon Partner — Host institution of Dr. Joyce Chen, recipient of the Barbara Owen Research Grant.
  • Wellesley College Partner — Hosted multiple early workshops and conferences, including From Scheidt to Buxtehude in 1987 and summer workshops from 1982–1987.
  • Westfield Center Friends Circle Partner — Donors who contribute additional funds beyond regular membership to support expanded research and public engagement in keyboard music.
  • info@westfield.org Partner — Contact point for sponsoring gift memberships for students or colleagues.
  • info@westfield.org Partner — Point of contact for submitting event announcements to the Westfield Newsletter.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Advance Keyboard Studies
    methodology: interdisciplinary_dialogue
    By fostering dialogue among performers, scholars, and instrument makers, the organization advances the field of historical keyboard studies because collaborative exchange integrates diverse expertise and deepens interpretive and technical understanding.
  • Multidisciplinary Public Engagement to Broaden Access
    methodology: multidisciplinary_public_engagement
    By combining exhibitions, concerts, and education across disciplines, the organization engages diverse audiences in keyboard studies because integrating music, history, science, and engineering makes technical and cultural aspects of instruments accessible and compelling to non-specialists.
  • Open and Accessible Dissemination of Scholarly Knowledge
    methodology: accessible_scholarship
    By making research openly available and using clear, high-quality writing, the organization broadens understanding of historical keyboards because removing access barriers enables both academic and general audiences to engage with scholarship.
  • Restorative Conservation Balancing Function and Authenticity
    methodology: restorative_conservation
    By restoring historical keyboard instruments to functional condition while preserving original materials and design, the organization enables authentic performance practice because playable instruments are essential for accurate reenactment of historical music-making.
  • Tactile Reenactment of Historical Performance Practice
    methodology: tactile_reenactment
    By emphasizing a performer’s tactile and imaginative engagement with historical instruments, the organization reenacts historical creative processes because physical interaction with period instruments reveals performance techniques and expressive possibilities lost in written sources.