Coltrane Home Gets $1 Million Grant From Mellon Foundation

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $1-million grant to the historic John  and Alice Coltrane Home in Dix Hills.
The multi-year grant will continue the preservation of the home of the influential musicians, increase organizational capacity, expand programmatic offerings and allow the hiring of a full-time executive director to lead the project.
“On behalf of the John and Alice Coltrane Home, I extend our thanks and appreciation to the
Mellon Foundation for this tremendous vote of confidence,” said the group’s chairman, Ravi
Coltrane, a son of the two musicians. “Our project brings people closer to the Coltrane legacy; expanding understanding and
inspiration and this funding will play an integral role in moving the project forward.”
The next phase of the renovation will include restoration of the home’s brick masonry façade,
structural upgrades, and rehabilitation of stoops, patios, windows, and doors as well as the
reintroduction of utilities. Renovation will also be funded in part by a $172,750.
matching grant through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, secured in 2016.
The restored home will engage students, artists, and visitors with many aspects of the
legacy of Coltrane, the influential saxophonist and jazz master who lived in the home from 1964 until his death in 1967. Alice Coltrane, a pianist and a harpist, died in 2007.
The home, where Coltrane created what is widely considered his most important work, A Love Supreme, is registered as a local, state, and national Historic Place. Additionally, it has been designated a National Treasure by the National Historic Trust For Preservation.
In 2005, the Town of Huntington purchased the home and the 3.5-acre property on which it sits.
Ownership of the home  was transferred to a newly formed not-for-profit organization,
Friends of the Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, Inc., which was entrusted with the renovation and
interpretation of the historic site. The Town retained ownership of the surrounding
land, designating it as Coltrane Park.
Programmatic concepts include a pilot music education program to encourage active
participation in music making, creativity and personal expression to empower all visitors young
and old, the trust said. Due to the impact of COVID, programming is currently presented virtually, reaching much larger audiences across the country and the world. It is expected that virtual programming will remain a large component of the Home’s outreach and engagement strategy.

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