Music Institute of Chicago Gala Honors Wynton Marsalis

2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis performs with Music Institute Jazz Studies faculty and students. Photo by Bob Carl.

WYNTON MARSALIS RECEIVES DUSHKIN AWARD

AT MUSIC INSTITUTE’S ANNIVERSARY GALA

The Music Institute of Chicago, one of the nation’s most distinguished and respected community music schools, welcomed 300 guests to its 2019 Anniversary Gala on Monday, May 20 at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. The event raised more than $850,000 from a combination of table sponsorships, ticket sales, and outright contributions. The evening included a cocktail reception, followed by an elegant dinner and awards presentation. Musical performances took place throughout the evening, representing every area of the Music Institute. Highlights included a New Orleans brass band procession; young musicians from the Community Music School; award-winning students from the Music Institute’s renowned Academy, a training center for gifted pre-college musicians; young string students from Third Coast Suzuki Strings, a violin program on Chicago’s Northwest Side in collaboration with the YMCA of Metro Chicago; and a surprise finale performance by 2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis alongside Music Institute students.

2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis (second from R) with members of the Music Institute Jazz Ambassador Combo. Photo by Ana Miyares. The prestigious Dushkin Award, established more than 30 years ago and named for the Music Institute’s visionary founders, Dorothy and David Dushkin, recognizes international luminaries in the world of music for their contributions to the art form, as well as to the education of youth. This year’s recipient, Wynton Marsalis, is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator, and leading advocate of American culture. He has created and performed an expansive range of music for groups ranging from quartets to big bands, from chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, and from tap dance to ballet, expanding the vocabulary for jazz and classical music with a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards, was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize (in 1997), and was honored with the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama in 2015. Marsalis serves as the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and is the director of Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School in New York City. Music Institute of Chicago The Music Institute of Chicago is dedicated to transforming lives through music education. Founded in 1931, the Music Institute has grown to become one of the most respected community music schools in the nation. Offering musical excellence built on the strength of its distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services, the Music Institute is a member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education and accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Pre-collegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS). Each year, the Music Institute’s teachers reach thousands of students of all ages and levels of experience. Music Institute locations include Chicago, Evanston, Winnetka, Lincolnshire, Lake Forest, and Downers Grove. In addition, the Music Institute is proud of its longstanding partnership with the Chicago Public Schools through its Arts Link program. The Music Institute offers lessons and classes, and concerts through its Community Music School, Academy, and Nichols Concert Hall. For information, visit musicinst.org.