Music Nonprofit S1 announces name change and new synth loaner program

Electronic Music and Contemporary Arts nonprofit S1 yesterday announced a name change. Aside from the minimal, but obscure, name of S1, the organization will therefore operate under the more literal title of Synth Library Portland.

He also announced his intention to reopen his synth library, which has been closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Synth Library Lending Program will be accessible to everyone and will prioritize access to QTBIPOC and others who have been under-represented in the electronic music community,” the social media release said.

The association left its physical space in the Roseway district at the end of 2020, so it plans to allow people to bring home instruments and other production equipment, through a material loan program.

This radical resource sharing attitude is not uncommon for nonprofits. In a 2018 interview with Willamette Week, Felisha Ledesma, co-founder of S1 and then Executive Director, asked: “Why shouldn’t everyone have access to the tools? “

Its first paid employee, Alessandra Genovese, will coordinate the loan program — which begins in August — as well as a fall artist-in-residence program.

Synth Library Portland’s Roseway Space was not only a place to house its library of synthesizers, but also a site for music education, tech lessons, and performing arts for all ages. While the statement said in-person teaching and workshops was a goal for the organization, it did not mention any desire to return as a venue.

Read the full press release here.