Wynton Marsalis to receive Marian Anderson Awardat Kimmel Center on Tursday night
Marian Anderson's contralto voice not only forged its way through the segregation and prejudice of the early and mid-20th century, it also served as the sound track to a legacy of artistry and philanthropy.
Marian Anderson's contralto voice not only forged its way through the segregation and prejudice of the early and mid-20th century, it also served as the sound track to a legacy of artistry and philanthropy.
That will play loud and clear Tuesday night at the Kimmel Center at the 17th annual Marian Anderson Award Gala. The award is given to an artist who not only excels in his or her field, but who also shows humanitarian leadership.
In 1943, the Philadelphia-born operatic star began a scholarship for promising singers. The scholarship was given out for more than two decades, growing sporadic until the fund ran out of money. It was restarted in 1990, and restructured again in 1998 as the Marian Anderson Award - given to artists in a wide range of fields, not just to singers. A separate award is now given to classical singers.
"Our aim has always been to honor artists in the highest level of achievement," said executive director Pat Moran. Past honorees include Harry Belafonte, Oprah Winfrey, Sidney Poitier, Maya Angelou, Jon Bon Jovi, and James Earl Jones.
This year, the recipient is jazz great Wynton Marsalis. "I don't think we have ever honored an artist who has done so much as an advocate for an artistic genre or musical genre," said Moran. "He has, by many people's measure, had the greatest impact on jazz of anyone in the world."
Marsalis has been previously recognized as a pioneer. He is the first musician to win Grammy Awards for jazz and classical recordings. And he was the first jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for music, for his oratorio Blood on the Fields.
"Not only is he ridiculously talented," said journalist Soledad O'Brien, who will be master of ceremonies at the gala Tuesday night, "but he's also a great human being."
Marsalis founded the Jazz at Lincoln Center program to make the genre more accessible to a wider audience. And he is an active philanthropist. After Hurricane Katrina, the native New Orleanian organized the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Concert, which raised more than $3 million for musicians and the organizations that support them. He is also a part of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission to help revitalize the city.
Marsalis recently told Inquirer music critic Dan DeLuca the Anderson award meant a great deal to him. "I love Marian Anderson and the whole tradition of excellence that she represented," Marsalis said. "I'm honored to accept as a representative of the values of the award."
O'Brien says she is a fan and a friend of Marsalis'. "I don't think there are a lot of opportunities where we celebrate people who have mastered musicianship and exemplify leadership and exemplify humanitarianism," said O'Brien. "I'm excited on all fronts."
O'Brien said she first became aware of Anderson as a fighter for civil rights. "One of the reasons I think the award is awesome," she said, "is because I love that she funded it from what she won."
In 1939, Anderson was not allowed to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall in Washington because she was black. In response, she performed a free Easter concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in front of 75,000 people.
In 1941, two years after that performance, she won the Edward W. Bok Prize for service to the City of Philadelphia. She used her $10,000 award money to found the Marian Anderson Scholarships.
Moran said Anderson and Marsalis share an expansive approach to their art. Anderson, known as an operatic star, included spirituals in her classical performances. Marsalis began as a classically trained trumpeter but then gravitated to jazz, which he defines very broadly and inclusively. Through such genre bending, Moran said, both artists "helped the world understand there's more to music than just classical."
The lineup for the evening includes Grammy-winning vocalist Lalah Hathaway and gospel singer Kim Burrell. Misty Copeland, breaking barriers in white-dominated ballet, also will perform, marking the first time ballet will be part of the program. Copeland is the first African American woman named a principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre.
All those on the stage, O'Brien says, are "people who spend most of their time giving back, and they really believe wholeheartedly in supporting young artists."
Another performer will be 15-year-old Max Chambers. A Marsalis fan, with the Berklee College of Music on his list of potential schools, Chambers has been playing violin since he was 7. He'll perform, alongside a pianist, the Miles Davis setting of the classic "Autumn Leaves."
Chambers is the recipient of a Marian Anderson Award Study-Grant, given to young students who face financial obstacles to continuing their musical pursuits.
"I was surprised that [Marsalis] actually asked me to play," said Chambers. "I'm honored and excited."
Moran said, "Anderson had the support of her family, church, and then the support of all of Philadelphia.
"Great careers don't just happen; they need to be assisted," he said. Marsalis has done his share in that regard. "He's an extraordinary and diligent mentor of young musicians," Moran said, "really understanding where jazz is coming from and where it's going."
Attendees should expect the gala "to be more than your regular concert experience," Moran said. Above all, Tuesday night is for everyone, a suitable remembrance of the legacy of a woman who fought with dignity all her life for inclusion.
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