NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Announces New Class of NEA Lifetime Honors Recipients

Award is nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts

June 24, 2010

		Victoria Hutter 202-682-5692 hutterv@arts.gov

Washington, DC – At the 170th meeting of the National Council on the Arts, NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman announced the 18 artists who are receiving lifetime honorific awards for their significant contributions to their respective fields of jazz, folk and traditional arts, or opera. The NEA is awarding $450,000 to this group of remarkable artists, recognizing both their artistic achievements and supporting their ongoing work as performers, crafts people, teachers, mentors, scholars, and/or advocates.

The NEA Jazz Master Fellowships, NEA National Heritage Fellowships, and NEA Opera Honors are the nation's highest honor in their fields. Each award recipient will receive an award of $25,000 and be celebrated at an award ceremony and concert.

NEA 2011 JAZZ MASTERS [Go to website section]

Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of
Jazz at Lincoln Center; New York, NY

Orrin Keepnews, jazz advocate (San Francisco, CA)
Hubert Laws, flutist (Los Angeles, CA)
David Liebman, saxophonist and flutist (Stroudsburg, PA)
Johnny Mandel, composer-arranger (Santa Monica, CA)
The Marsalis family
   Branford Marsalis, saxophonist, composer, bandleader (Durham, NC)
   Delfeayo Marsalis, Trombonist, Producer (New Orleans, LA)
   Ellis Marsalis, Jr., pianist and educator (New Orleans, LA)
   Jason Marsalis, percussionist, vibraphonist (New Orleans, LA)
   Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter, Composer, arranger, artistic director
   (New York, NY)  

NEA 2010 NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOWS [Go to website section]

Friday, September 24, 2010
Strathmore Music Center; Bethesda, MD

Yacub Addy, Ghanaian drummer (Latham, NY)
Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, fiddler (Rockwall, TX)
Gladys Kukana Grace, Lauhala weaver(Honolulu, HI)
Mary Jackson, sweetgrass basketweaver (John's Island, SC)
Delano "Del" Floyd McCoury, bluegrass guitarist and singer (Nashville, TN)
Judith McCulloh, folklorist and editor (Urbana, IL)
Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan Bharatanatyam Indian dancer (Mastic, NY)
Mike Rafferty, Irish flute player (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ)
Ezequiel Torres, Afro-Cuban drummer and drum builder (Miami, FL)

NEA 2010 OPERA HONOREES [Go to website section]

Friday, October 22, 2010
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Washington, DC

Martina Arroyo, soprano, (New York, NY)
David DiChiera, general director (Detroit, MI)
Philip Glass, composer (New York, NY)
Eve Queler, music director (New York, NY)

All of the concerts will be free, but tickets will be required.  Ticket information will be released on a rolling basis and will be made available at arts.gov.

Chairman Landesman said, "On behalf of the NEA, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to this group of stellar artists and thank them for all they have accomplished and shared with us in the course of their careers. Their works of art have delighted and challenged us, illuminated our sense of the world, and refreshed our understanding of what is possible. These programs give the NEA the opportunity to support and highlight artists who have devoted their lives to their art form."

The honorees were chosen from nominations submitted by the public and reviewed by panels of their peers. They represent 13 different states and several artistic intersections.

• Yacub Addy, a Ghanaian drummer, collaborated with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis on two projects: Africa Jazz (2003) and Congo Square (2006), the latter a musical tribute to New Orleans.
• Three flutists stem from two different traditions; Michael Rafferty is renowned in the world of Irish music while David Liebman and Hubert Laws play the flute in the jazz idiom.
• Among the group are four Grammy Award-winners (McCoury, Mandel, Marsalis, and Keepnews); a MacArthur Fellowship recipient (Jackson); a Golden Globe awardee (Glass), and a Pulitzer Prize recipient (Marsalis).

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