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PAN PIPES WintER 2014 sai-natiOnal.ORg 12 liFetime aChieVement a Recording Academy's Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement was awarded posthumously to legendary American violinist Maud Powell on January 25 in Los Angeles. is Special Merit Award is presented by vote of e Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. A pioneer recording artist, Maud Powell (1867-1920) became the first instrumentalist to record for Victor's Celebrity Artist Series (Red Seal label) in 1904. She set a standard for violin playing that endures to this day, and, through her recordings, she continues to inspire musicians with her superb artistry, sound musicianship, and technical command. Behind her technique and musicianship loomed an imposing intellect, broad humanity, and deep spirituality, which formed the substratum of her character. Powell is the first woman instrumentalist to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award and only the fourth violinist since the Grammy Awards began in 1962. Twenty-three classical musicians have received this award, five of whom including Powell were women. Four were opera singers. Recipients are determined by a vote of their peers, music professionals who have met the qualifications to become members of e Recording Academy. Aer viewing all the nominations, a Blue Ribbon committee presents a slate of finalists for approval by the Trustees. SAI Honorary Member Karen Shaffer, founder and president of e Maud Powell Society for Music and Education based in Brevard, NC, will accept the award on behalf of Maud Powell. She will be accompanied by Maud Powell Society board members Pamela Blevins, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, (both SAI Honorary Members) and Gregory Pine (SAI Friend of the Arts). Longtime SAI member Joyce McFarland Dlugopolski and SAI past president Ginny Johnson are on the board of the Maud Powell Society. "e Maud Powell Society was founded in 1986 to restore Powell's remarkable legacy and this award is a confirmation that we are succeeding in fulfilling our purpose," Shaffer said. Shaffer has devoted 35 years to writing Powell's biography (published 1988), reissuing her recordings, publishing her transcriptions, and speaking throughout the United States. She is a co-founder of the Maud Powell Arts Celebration in Peru, IL, Powell's birthplace, and spoke at the 1995 dedication of the statue of Powell that stands in Peru's city center. She was also Keynote Speaker at the 2009 SAI National Convention in Chicago. Powell's recordings are available on the Naxos label: Maud Powell, e Complete Recordings 1904-17, Vols. 1-4. Her transcriptions and music dedicated to her, along with her original cadenza for the Brahms violin concerto, were published in 2009 as Maud Powell Favorites, and can be obtained from e Maud Powell Society, now based in Brevard, NC. In recognition of Powell's significance in America's cultural life, Nicholas R. Brewer's oil portrait of Maud Powell was accepted by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. in 2002 and is now in the permanent collection. "With Maud Powell's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2017, we hope the Recording Academy's award will prompt many musicians to find their own ways to pay tribute to this 'supreme and unforgettable artist' who forged a path for others to follow," Shaffer said. e Maud Powell Society offers non-monetary support Grammys Recognize Maud Powell Violinist Maud Powell is the first woman instrumentalist to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy. For more information, visit maudpowell.org and grammy.org CliCK For more

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