Take notice: the union now has a fund to pay you for gigs! But as Tom Waits once said, the large print giveth and the small print taketh away, so read on for more details…

The new fund is named after Julius Grossman, who bequeathed a one-time grant of $50,000 to the Music Performance Fund.

Grossman, a member of Local 802 for 56 years, was a mentor to many musicians, the director of the music program at the High School of Performing Arts, and a staunch supporter of union labor. Many consider his greatest achievement to be the formation of Municipal Concerts, Inc., a not-for-profit organization which still presents free concerts of classical music in parks, community centers, centers for older adults and other venues where classical performances are not readily available. Grossman died in 2002 at the age of 90.

The new Julius Grossman Fund will pay out money to bandleaders or solo musicians who organize MPF gigs. (The MPF is the Music Performance Fund, which provides money for gigs that are free and open to the public.) The Grossman Fund will provide 65 percent of the funding and the MPF will provide 35 percent. The net result is that the entire gig is paid for.

Here are the restrictions:

You have to find, create and organize the gig yourself: Local 802 will not do this for you. The job must be under an 802 contract. The gigs have to take place in New York City and all players must be members of Local 802. Performances should attempt to meet the musical needs of senior citizens or be performed in areas of the city for residents who might otherwise not normally attend classical music performances. One-hour demonstration concerts to seniors will be preferred.

In order to give as many concerts as possible with these funds, performances should be done by small classical chamber music groups of up to 12 players.

In addition to these restrictions, the gigs must follow the usual MPF guidelines. For instance, all performances must be free and open to the public.

For full details and to apply for funding, contact Local 802’s MPF Supervisor Olga James at (212) 245-4802, ext. 152 or ojames@local802afm.org.