Sigma Alpha Iota

CELEBRATING ARTISTS Kennedy Center Honors Exemplary Artists O n Dec. 4, 2011, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosted the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors. Recipients honored at the 34th annual national celebration of the arts are: singer Barbara Cook, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins, and actress Meryl Streep. "The Kennedy Center celebrates its 40th anniversary by selecting five extraordinary individuals whose collective artistry has contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world," Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said. The annual Honors Gala has become the highlight of the Washington cultural year, and its broadcast on CBS is a high point of the television season. Seated with the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama, the Honorees accepted the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes. The White House received the Honorees and members of the Artists Committee who nominate them, along with the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, prior to the gala performance. The Kennedy Center Honors medallions were presented Dec. 3, the night before the gala, at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Honors Gala was broadcast Dec. 27. The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts — whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television — are selected by the Center's Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines. Past Honors recipients, as well as members of the Kennedy Center's national artists committee, made recommendations of possible 2011 Honorees. Previous Kennedy Center Honorees, including Julie Andrews, SAI National Arts Associate Dave Brubeck, Carol Burnett, Plácido Domingo, Steve Martin, Jack Nicholson, SAI Member Laureate Jessye Norman, Stephen Sondheim, Steven Spielberg, and Stevie Wonder made nominations. — kennedy-center.org 12 PAN PIPES WINTER 2012 sai-national.org KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES The following SAI Distinguished Members have been named Kennedy Center Honorees since the distinction was created in 1978. Member Laureate Jessye Norman Marian Anderson Leontyne Price Beverly Sills Rise Stevens Joan Sutherland Grace Bumbry William Schuman Van Cliburn John Williams Dave Brubeck 1997 Honorary members 1978 1980 1985 1990 2004 2009 National Arts Associates 1989 2001 2004 2009 34TH KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES Barbara Cook (Singer; born October 25, 1927, in Atlanta) Her voice is drenched in sunshine, and for more than half a century her singing has defined all that is best and brightest in the Great American Songbook. Once Broadway's favorite ingénue and a working legend today, she can bring grandeur and a sense of occasion to the simplest musical gestures, but she also can turn the grandest of spaces into the most intimate cabaret. Whether on the stages of major international venues throughout the world or in the intimate setting of New York's Café Carlyle or Feinstein's at the Regency, Barbara Cook's popularity continues to thrive — as evidenced by her 1997 birthday concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Albert Hall in London, a succession of 6 triumphant returns to Carnegie Hall where she made a legendary solo concert debut in 1975, and an ever-growing mantle of honors including the Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, her citation as a Living New York Landmark, and her induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame. A native of Atlanta, Cook made her Broadway debut in 1951 as the ingenue lead in the musical Flahooley. She subsequently played Ado Annie in the City Center revival of Oklahoma!, followed by a national tour of that hit show. In 1954, her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel led to the role of Hilda Miller in the original production of Plain and Fancy. Cook went on to create the role of Cunegonde in the original production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide. This was followed by her creations of two classic roles in the America musical theatre — Marian the Librarian in the premiere production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, a performance which earned her the Tony Award, and Amalia in the Bock-HarnickMasteroff musical, She Loves Me. Cook recently returned to the Broadway stage after a 23-year absence, and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance, in the musical Sondheim on Sondheim. In January 2006, she made her solo concert debut at the Metropolitan Opera Company, making her the first female pop singer to be presented by the MET in the company's 123-year history. Musical America selected her as their 2007 Vocalist of the Year, the first pop singer to be so honored by this classical performing arts organization. Neil Diamond (Singer and songwriter; born January 24, 1941, in New York, NY)   Neil Diamond is among the most accomplished pop songwriters of our era. In five prolific decades he has created one of the most enduring catalogs of American popular music. Encompassing and transforming the many styles that define American popular music — from rock, folk and blues to country, Tin Pan Alley, and top 40 pop — he has written some of our most treasured songs: "Solitary Man," "Cherry, Cherry," "Cracklin' Rosie," "Holly, Holly," "Sweet Caroline," "I Am…I Said," "Song Sung Blue," "Kentucky Woman," "America." His music has bridged generations of American tastes and fans. Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Chris Isaak, Johnny Cash, and Michael Ball have covered his songs. To date, he has placed 56 singles in Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and 48 albums (including compilations) on its Top 200 album chart. He has sold more than 125 million records and set attendance records at venues all over the world. A charismatic and captivating performer, he's bridged generations with his music, serving as a missing link between the iconic poles of Elvis Presley's rock and Frank Sinatra American songbook.

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