A new festival in New York City of North American symphony and chamber orchestras can now be launched courtesy of a $1 million US gift from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The Spring for Music Festival is set to debut in May 2011 at Carnegie Hall.

It got the green light this week after the foundation decided to pony up funds on top of money handed out by philanthropists Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest, and Daniel and Jan Lewis, and the Irving B. Harris Foundation

Orchestras from Montreal, Atlanta, Dallas, St. Paul, Minn., and Albany, N.Y., have been chosen for the inaugural festival.

More performers and a full schedule will be announced in early 2011.

"By enabling a whole new group of orchestras to take artistic risks and to engage with new audiences in the national spotlight of Carnegie Hall, this project promises to bring fresh energy to our field," Jesse Rosen, president of the League of American Orchestras, said in a statement on Thursday.

The Mellon grant will help pay for the first three seasons of Spring for Music. The annual budget will be about $1.5 million U.S.

Established in 1969, the non-profit and New York-based Mellon Foundation gives money to the arts, research in information technology and conservation initiatives.