May 06, 2013

Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Johnnetta Cole spoke with National Endowment for the Arts jazz master Randy Weston and historian Wayne Chandler, author of Ancient Future, about “Africa and Jazz”, uncovering stories and images of Africa’s roots in America’s history through jazz that have transformed the nation. The April 6 program “Rhythms Changing America” at the American History Museum was one of a monthlong series of lectures, discussions and performances celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian.  Dr. John Edward Hasse, Curator of American Music, followed up with a discussion on “Jazz and Freedom” with Cuban percussionist Candido Camero and American history scholar Robin D.G. Kelley, author of the biography Thelonious Monk and Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times.  Following the discussion Weston and Camero performed excerpts from Weston’s newest jazz opus, “Nubian Suite.“ Please visit theSmithsonian National Museum of African Art to view the event.

March 04, 2013

Mery Streep, 2008 Creativity Laureate, narrated a PBS documentary “Makers: Women Who Make America“ that recently aired February 26 on PBS. “Makers” profiles women from a variety of fields, ranging from arts and education to sports, business and politics. These women, from the high profile to the every day change makers, including two Creativity Foundation’s Laureates, told their stories in their own ways. 2005 Laureate and former Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor, recounts eagerly following up on job leads posted at her law school in the early 1950s, only to be told, “Oh, we didn’t mean women. We don’t hire women.“ Johnnetta Cole, 2011 Creativity Laureate and current Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, talks about her experience as the first female president of Spelman College and the importance of women teaching the next generation. Other women who share their stories include Betty Friedan, Hillary Clinton, Judy Blume, Gloria Steinem.

February 28, 2013

Johnnetta Cole ‘57 was at Oberlin College in early February for a  Convocation Series event entitled “Identities of Art: Who am I and What is it?“.  Cole was joined by Ghanaian-British-American cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at Princeton University and former president of the PEN American Center, in a discussion about the ways in which we relate to and understand art. Cole also reflected on how she got from studying anthropology at Oberlin to being the director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

February 12, 2013

For the past several months Juan has been a resident artist with the Conservatory Lab Charter School’s El Sistemaprogram in Boston working with clarinet and woodwind players.  Students in El Sistema receive free orchestral instruction for three hours each day, integrated into their academic program.  Juan finds the experience very inspiring and the work very demanding.  

When Juan is not at school he is finishing a Master’s degree in Modern American music at Longy School of Music of Bard College and continuing his clarinet studies.  He is also preparing the arrangements for a new album of Latin American music with some jazz influence as well.  Most exciting for Juan is the positive reception of the two pieces he wrote that were published about a year ago. They are being performed in Mexico and around the USA.  Follow this link for the music http://www.rceditions.com/item.php?id=3060030

February 09, 2013

The Jewish Book Council recently announced the 2012 National Jewish Book Awards in New York City.  Dr. Eric Kandel, winner of the  2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology, was named the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to the contemporary Jewish community, to the world of literature and of science.  The National Jewish Book Awards is the longest running and most prestigious North American awards program in the field of Jewish literature. Awards are presented annually in over 18 categories to recognize outstanding books, stimulate writers to further literary creativity, and encourage the reading of worthwhile titles. 

Dr. Kandel’s book, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind (W. W. Norton & Company, 2006), outlinines the medical discoveries that led to his being awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in physiology and  is equally rooted in his life experience, most fundamentally his family’s escaping Austria with their lives, after the Nazis had deprived them of all their possessions.  His most recent book, The Age of Insight: A Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present (Random House, 2012)  bridges science, art and his Jewish identity.

Dr. Kandel will be the keynote speaker at the Awards ceremony scheduled for Thursday, March 14th, 2013 at the Center for Jewish History at 15 West 16th Street at 8:00pm.  The event is free and open to the public.

February 08, 2013

The Vilcek Foundation recently awarded Yo Yo Ma the 2013 Vilcek Prize for Contemporary Music.  The annual prize, which comes with a $100,000 cash award, recognizes immigrants who have made significant contributions to the American arts.  Ma, born in France to Chinese parents,  is widely known as a master cellist in the field of classical music.  The Vilcek prize is the first to recognize his important work in contemporary music.“Yo-Yo Ma’s faith in the connection between the arts and enlightened citizenship echoes that of the Vilcek Foundation. We are delighted to bestow the prize to someone who understands how art brings people together, no matter where in the world they are from,“ said Marica Vilcek, Vice President of the Foundation.  

In addition to recognizing Ma, the Vilcek Foundation recognized a younger generation of foreign-born artists at earlier stages of their careers.  Recipients of the three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Contemporary Music are James Abrahar, a British born-songwriter, Samuel Bazawule of Ghana, and Armenian-born pianist, composer and vocalist Tigran.  Bob Santelli, executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum, will present the prizes in New York CIty at an awards ceremony in April 2013.

February 06, 2013

When asked in a recent interview with the New Scientist: “Doesn’t every physicist dream of one neat theory of everything?“ Randall responded “There are lots of physicists! I don’t think about a theory of everything when I do my research. And even if we knew the ultimate underlying theory, how are you going to explain the fact that we’re sitting here? Solving string theory won’t tell us how humanity was born.“  The full interview with feature editors Valerie Jamieson and Richard Webb can be found at New Scientist Opinion. 

February 06, 2013

In an interview with dance critic Sarah Kaufman at The Washington Post, Mark Morris reflects on his choreographic process, his upcoming work and the music that makes him want to dance.  On February 8 and 9, 2013 the Mark Morris Dance Group will perform a wonderful program at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts that includes three stunning works in their D.C. area premieres,  The Office set to music by Antonín Dvořák; Festival Dance set to Hummel’s Piano Trio No. 5 in E Major; and Socrates, set to music by composer Erik Satie.

Prior to each performance Nancy Umanoff, Executive Director of the Mark Morris Dance Group, will lead a discussion among patrons , allowing them to gain some insight and knowledge about Mark Morris and his world renowned dance group.

February 03, 2013

The International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina recently honored Johnnetta Cole with the Alston-Jones International Civil and Human Rights Award.  Presented on February 2 at the museum’s gala,  the award  recognizes individuals who have contributed to the expansion of civil and human rights.  In accepting her award Cole told the group “It’s very hard, intensely difficult, for me to find words that would capture how profoundly honored I am.“  Prior to Cole’s current position as director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art she was president of Bennett College and later Spelman College and the first black leader of the United Way of America.  

The gala commemorated the 53rd anniversary of the February 1, 1960 Woolworth sit-ins in Greensboro when four North Carolina A&T students protested segregation laws at the downtown lunch counter.  The museum opened in 2010 in the former Woolworth store.   Named in honor of the museum’s co-founders Melvin Alston and Earl Jones,  the award is the highest honor given by the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

January 22, 2013

Yo Yo Ma recently joined pianist Cristina Pato and former NYC ballet dancer Damian Woetzel for a visit to Waterside Studio School in Queens as part of Ma’s Arts Strike initiative.  Launched in 2010 by Ma and Woetzel,Arts Strike was designed to have celebrity artists engage with students, educators and communities to promote learning through the arts.  Still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, the school welcomed the opportunity to create new music and dance with the artists and to show off instruments they made with debri from the hurricane.  For Ma it was a chance to give back to a community devasted by Hurricane Sandy and to continue advocating the importance of music in education.