The Marian Anderson Award was originally established in 1943 by African American singer Marian Anderson, after she was awarded The Philadelphia Award (and the cash prize that came with it) in 1940. Anderson used the award money to establish a singing competition to help support young singers; recipients of which include Camilla Williams (1943, 1944), Nathaniel Dickerson (1944), Louise Parker (1944), Eudice Mesibov (1946), Mattiwilda Dobbs (1947), Rawn Spearman (1949), Georgia Laster (1951), Betty Allen (1952), Gloria Davy (1952), Judith Raskin (1952, 1953), Shirlee Emmons (1953), Miriam Holman (1954), Willis Patterson (1956), Shirley Verrett (1957), Joanna Simon (1962), Billie Lynn Daniel (1963), and Joyce Mathis (1967). Eventually, the prize fund ran out of money and it was disbanded. Florence Quivar was the last recipient of this earlier award in 1976.
In 1990, the award was re-established and has dispensed $25,000 annually. In 1998, the prize was restructured with the "Marian Anderson Award" going to an established artist, not necessarily a singer, who exhibits leadership in a humanitarian area. A separate prize, the "Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists" is given to promising young classical singers. [1]
In 2022, the independent organization running the award program dissolved, and Play On Philly, an after-school classical music education program, became the administrators of the award. [2]
Below are the names of those who received the award since its reinstatement in 1990. [3] Bill Cosby's 2009 award was rescinded by the committee after multiple allegations of sexual assault were made public. [4] In 2018, Queen Latifah was poised to receive the award, but later announced that she wouldn't be accepting it due to "personal reasons"; that year's award ceremony was postponed indefinitely. [5]
The award was not issued in 2020 or 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marian Anderson was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965.
Dana Elaine Owens, known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two NAACP Image Awards, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2006, she became the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, numbering over 130 annually, at Marian Anderson Hall.
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk group formed in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell aka "Khalis Bayyan", Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Sir Earl Toon, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. The group changed their name several times. Settling on Kool & the Gang, the group signed to De-Lite Records and released their debut album, Kool and the Gang (1969).
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is an American award presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. annually since 1998, except for the years 2020 and 2021. Named after the 19th-century humorist Mark Twain, it is presented to individuals who have "had an impact on American society in ways similar to" Twain. The Kennedy Center chose Twain in recognition of his role as a controversial social commentator and his "uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly." A copy of Karl Gerhardt's 1884 bust of Twain is presented in a ceremony usually in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, during which the recipient is celebrated by his or her peers. The event is a significant fundraiser to benefit the Kennedy Center, which sells tickets as well as access to dinners and after-parties featuring the celebrities.
The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five honorees in the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. While the awards are primarily given to individuals, they have occasionally been given to couples or musical groups, as well as to one Broadway musical, one television show, and one entertainment venue.
University of the Arts (UArts) was a private arts university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus made up part of the Avenue of the Arts cultural district in Center City, Philadelphia. On May 31, 2024, university administrators suddenly announced that the university would close on June 7, 2024, although its precarious financial situation had been known for some time. It was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Phylicia Rashad is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three-year contract ended in May 2024. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000).
Robert "Bootsie" Barnes was an American jazz tenor saxophonist from Philadelphia.
James Anderson DePreist was an American conductor. DePreist was one of the first African-American conductors on the world stage. He was the director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at The Juilliard School and laureate music director of the Oregon Symphony at the time of his death.
Loewe is a Spanish luxury fashion house specialising in leather goods, clothing, perfumes and other fashion accessories. Founded in 1846 in Madrid, Loewe is part of LVMH since 1996, and is the oldest luxury fashion house of the holding.
In late 2014, multiple allegations emerged that Bill Cosby, an American media personality, had sexually assaulted dozens of women throughout his career. Cosby was well known in the United States for his eccentric image, and gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He received numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his career, many of which have since been revoked. There had been previous allegations against Cosby, but they were dismissed and accusers were ignored or disbelieved.
Bessie is a 2015 HBO TV film about the American blues singer Bessie Smith, and focuses on her transformation as a struggling young singer into "The Empress of the Blues". The film is directed by Dee Rees, with a screenplay by Rees, Christopher Cleveland and Bettina Gilois. Queen Latifah stars as Smith, and supporting roles are played by Michael Kenneth Williams as Smith's first husband Jack Gee, and Mo'Nique as Ma Rainey. The film premiered on May 16, 2015. By the following year Bessie was the most watched HBO original film in the network's history. The film was well received critically and garnered four Primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Television Movie.
Walter Jay Lear was an American physician and activist for healthcare reform and LGBT rights. Among his contributions, Lear was a founder of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health and the Maternity Care Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. In 1964 Lear was also a founder of the Medical Community for Human Rights. He received the American Public Health Association's Helen Rodriguez-Trias Award for his contributions to the cause of social justice.
The 2020 Philadelphia Union season was the club's eleventh season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by Jim Curtin, his seventh season with the club. The Union's season began on February 29, 2020, and was scheduled on end in October or November 2020, depending on their regular season performance. On March 12, 2020, MLS suspended the season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Originally planned to be a 30-day suspension, the league remained suspended until July 9, 2020, when competition resumed with the MLS is Back Tournament. The tournament ran through August 11, 2020, with the remainder of the season, under a truncated format, continued through November 8, 2020.
J’Nai Bridges is a two time Grammy-Award winning American mezzo-soprano. She is a winner of the Marian Anderson Award and has performed for the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, and San Francisco Opera. BET has described her as The Beyoncé of opera.
The HoagieNation Festival was started in 2017 by Philadelphia's own pop rock duo, Hall & Oates, as a "celebration of everything Philly". Being described by Daryl Hall, HoagieNation is “a wonderful and colorful place where the citizens are united by a love of cold meat and Amoroso’s rolls.” Meanwhile, John Oates described Philly as being “famous for a lot of things” with the highlights being “the amazing music” and “the hoagie,” which the duo were “[putting] it all together.” The festival was recognized by Mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney, who said that “Daryl and John hold a special place in the hearts of Philadelphia music fans,” and that “we are extremely excited that they are launching their first-ever curated festival back where it all began, right here in Philadelphia.” The festival has featured many artists, in addition to Hall & Oates, that are local to Philadelphia, including G. Love & Special Sauce, Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers, the Soul Survivors, and many others.
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