NEA Lifetime Honors Recipients Announced
At the 173rd meeting of the National Council on the Arts today (which can be viewed here), NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman will announce 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 recipients of the NEA Jazz Master Fellowships, NEA National Heritage Fellowships, and NEA Opera Honors will receive an award of $25,000 and be celebrated at their respective awards ceremonies and concerts. They were chosen from nominations submitted by the public and reviewed by panels of their peers.
2012 NEA JAZZ MASTERS
Awards Ceremony & Concert: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, New York.
- Jack DeJohnette, Drummer, Keyboardist, Composer
- Von Freeman, Saxophonist
- Charlie Haden, Bassist, Composer, Educator
- Sheila Jordan, Vocalist, Educator
- Jimmy Owens, Educator, Trumpeter, Flugelhorn Player, Composer, Arranger
2011 NEA NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOWS
Concert: Friday, September 23, 2011, Music Center at Strathmore, Bethesda, Maryland.
- Laverne Brackens, Quilter
- Bo Dollis, Mardi Gras Indian Chief
- Jim Griffith, Folklorist
- Roy and PJ Hirabayashi, Taiko Drum Leaders
- Ledward Kaapana, Ukulele and slack key guitarist
- Frank Newsome, Old Regular Baptist singer
- Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro, Pandeiro player & percussionist
- Warner Williams, Piedmont blues songster
- Yuri Yunakov, Bulgarian saxophonist
2011 NEA OPERA HONOREES
Concert: Thursday, October 27, 2011, Harman Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C.
- John Conklin, Stage Designer
- Speight Jenkins, General Director
- Risë Stevens, Performer
- Robert Ward, Composer