February 17, 2026
SIFest receives National Endowment for the Arts grant
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale is receiving a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to help with this year’s programming for the nationally recognized Southern Illinois Music Festival (SIFest).
The funds will go toward the 22nd season of the festival, held June 18 to July 4 at various locations throughout the region. The theme, “Celebrate America at 250,” has been in the planning stages for several years, and highlights a wide range of American classical music from the 18th through the 21st centuries.
Edward Benyas, SIFest artistic director, founder and conductor, said the programming “is exactly in line with what the NEA is funding this year — commemorating ‘America at 250.’”
Benyas said unlike music regularly performed at the festival, most of the American classical music performed this year is not in the public domain, and costs “thousands of dollars to rent these materials for public performance.”
“That is where the NEA grant will really help us. It gives us the opportunity to perform this great range of American classical music during our three-week festival,” he said.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support opportunities across the country for Americans to experience and participate in the arts,” said Mary Anne Carter, NEA chair. “As we celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary this year, it is a moment to recognize the important role the arts continue to play in our lives, communities, and heritage.”
Second NEA grant
The festival receives an Illinois Arts Council program grant each year, but this is only the second NEA grant — the first was in 2013, Benyas said.
“These grants are very competitive and quite time consuming. The staff at SIU’s Office of Sponsored Projects Administration was very helpful in following up with a lot of paperwork,” he said.
Concert locations include Carterville High School; the Marion Civic Center; the Harold Jones Fine Arts Center in Cairo; Artspace Southern Illinois 304 Cultural Arts Center, African American Museum and First United Methodist Church, all in Carbondale, and Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass. The two pre-fireworks concerts will be July 3 at Riverside Park in Murphysboro and July 4 outside of SIU Carbondale’s Banterra Center.
Ticket information
Tickets for all SIFest 2026 events except those that are free will be $25 general admission and $10 for students of any age and available at performance locations 30 minutes before each performance. An all-festival pass is $150 and includes admission to all events along with a 60-page program booklet valued at $200. Advance festival passes and individual tickets will be available on the SIFest 2026 brochure ticket order form, which will be posted in April on the festival website.