President Obama bestowing upon legendary tenor George Shirley the
National Medal of Arts in the special ceremony held in the East Room.
Shirley is the first African-American tenor to sing a leading role at
The Metropolitan Opera (Photo by Kadesh DuBose/KmBd Studios™)
Famed author Steven King was among the 2014 National Medal of Arts Recipients at The White House. (Photo by Kadesh DuBose/KmBd Studios™)
Acclaimed actress Sally Field is presented the 2014 National Medal of
Arts by President Obama at The White House. (Photo by Kadesh
DuBose/KmBd
Studios™)
Just before receiving his official honor at The White House, medal
recipient George Shirley was in attendance at a private breakfast hosted
in celebration of the occasion by the Coalition for African Americans
in the Performing Arts. Pictured: Alvy Powell, Terri Allen, George
Shirley and Pamela Simonson. (Photo by Debra Johnson)
Washington Life Magazine
Posted on 18 September 2015
George Shirley, Sally Field and Stephen King were among those honored with the National Medal of the Arts at The White House.
By Patrick D. McCoy
By Patrick D. McCoy
The skies of downtown D.C. were overcast, but nothing could dim the
festivity that shined in the artistic achievements of several greats
honored in the East Room for the National Medal of Arts ceremony at The
White House. How befitting it was for elegant orchestral music greet
guests as they arrived for ceremony. The East Room seemed to bustle with
great anticipation as the invited guests awaited the arrival of the
afternoon’s honorees.
The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and
arts patrons by the United States government. It’s awarded by the
President of the United States to individuals or groups who “are
deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding
contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the
arts in the United States.”
Following presentation of the National Medal of Arts was the
presentation the National Humanities Medals. Recognizably present arts
leaders for the ceremony were NEA Chairman Jane Chu and Aaron Dworkin,
founder of Sphinx and now Dean of the University of Michigan School of
Music. There were eleven recipients of the National Medal of Arts. They
were: visual artist John Baldessari, theater director Ping Chong,
actress Miriam Colón, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, actress Sally Field, visual artist Ann Hamilton, author Stephen King, folk singer Meredith Monk, the University Musical Society, author and educator Tobias Wolff and operatic tenor George Shirley. Presented the medals by President Obama,
there was a sense of joy and adulation experienced by each recipient
receiving the nation’s highest honor recognizing accomplishments in the
arts.
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