ALEX’S 24TH BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER!
Hi friends, family, & ‘Norfers!!
It’s hard to believe I’m already 24….the days of tennis tournaments, family beach trips, and piano lessons simultaneously feel like yesterday & eons ago, haha! I’m not a huge birthday person, but wanted to share a bit of what I’ve been up to in the past year with, especially since I very rarely post on social media.
To celebrate 24, I thought it was perfect timing to do a lil personal fundraiser for the organization I direct, which also kicks off our Summer 2026 Donation Campaign! It’s a really special time for us…we just wrapped up our fifteenth year of the Nief-Norf Summer Festival, and have an incredible matching fund of $15,000 thanks to the generosity and fundraising efforts of our Board of Directors.
To catch everyone up, I’ve been involved with an incredible organization called Nief-Norf since 2022, and stepped into the role of Executive Director in April 2025. Nief-Norf is a community of curious listeners, adventurous artists, and innovative scholars — we specialize in the performance and creation of experimental chamber music, but our community extends far beyond just performing artists and composers to EVERYONE who listens to, supports, and loves this music.
I am constantly struggling to put into words just how much this community means to me, and how lucky I am to be directing and leading this organization. We’ve done SO much in the past year, and I have TONS planned for the next decade…but of course, none of that can happen without financial and engagement support. As with every arts organization right now, we are definitely not without our own set of financial challenges — but I cannot emphasize how important the work we do is to our community, and just how much more community we have the opportunity to build and support.
I like to be suuuuper transparent when asking for donations, so I’ve put together this page as a lil overview of everything we’ve accomplished in the past year and some of the plans I have moving forward. But please don’t hesitate to text/call/DM/etc. if you are considering donating and have questions!!
And, feel free to poke around on Nief-Norf’s website for more information :)
Yours in ‘Norf & Love Y’all,
~Alex :)
April 2025 - April 2026 : Director’s Report Year One!! 🤩🎉
It has been an incredible honor to be Nief-Norf’s Executive Director for an entire year — I cannot express how thankful I am for this community and how proud I am of our growth in this short amount of time. I’ve highlighted some of the biggest items in the video & below…we’re truly just getting started, and I can’t wait to share everything to come!!
Always Yours in ‘Norf,
~Alex Dally | Executive Director
· Doubled annual income
· Increased grant submissions for 16 to 49+
· Welcomed Co-ADs Claire Chenette & Abby Fisher
· Welcomed a new board member, Emmy Carter
· Collaborated with Big Ears last fall for the first time since before 2020
· Hosted Phil Kline’s “Unsilent Night” in three cities for the first time ever
· Booked for a residency at UNC Wilmington, Apr. 17-21
· Tripled application numbers for NNSF & more than doubled enrollment
· Reinstated NNSF scholarships & financial aid, and distributed more than $15k
· Partnering with the ACA for 12+ hours of local programming on Make Music Day
· Accepting proposals & hosting a solo competition during SYNNERGY
· All big concerts & events are completely free and open to the public
· & we have a HUGE announcement coming at SYNNERGY this summer!! 👀
YEAR 23 RECAP!
Below is the video & post caption I shared on the one-year anniversary of becoming Executive Director (April 7th)!
YEAR 24 OVERVIEW!
· Launch of the Nief-Norf Youth Ensemble: Providing Knoxville-based high school students the opportunity to collaborate with our local faculty and gain exposure to contemporary chamber music!
· Offering brand new scholarship and funding opportunities to our alumni: an emergency fund, travel assistance for other new music festivals, professional project support, & more!
· Hosting our annual community holiday event (Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night) in FOUR Tennessee cities this year: Knoxville (for the 14th time), Johnson City, Chattanooga, & Nashville (new this year!)
· Our first NYC-based events — an open mic night for city-based alumni & faculty (there are around 100 ‘Norfers up there!!)
· Continuing to increase the amount of scholarships provided for the Nief-Norf Summer Festival
· Continuing to increase our grant submissions & be creative about new funding sources
· Continuing to advocate for the arts at the local, state, and national levels :)
· A HUGE announcement coming this August….this is something I’ve been working on for well over 8 months, and will significantly impact the future and growth of our organization! If you know me and/or my dad well, you probably already know what this is….haha :)
· & so, so much more. Check out our IN THE WORKS page to see all the programs I have in mind!
