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DATE: September 8, 2008 MEDIA CONTACT: Cathy Farmer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE cfarmer@pamusacad.org
717-399-9733EDWARD ALBEE ANNOUNCED AS FIRST RECIPIENT OF PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF MUSIC CREATIVITY AWARD
Will Accept Award In Person on October 15
LANCASTER, Pa. – Award-winning playwright Edward Albee has been chosen as the first recipient of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music Creativity Award which recognizes artists and innovators who have challenged conventional notions to positively impact humanity. Mr. Albee will accept the award in person at the Lancaster, Pa., school and performance center on October 15. Perhaps best known for the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Mr. Albee will add this new honor to the numerous Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and Drama Critics Circle Awards he currently holds.
The award presentation will occur during a formal reception and concert at the Academy. An originally designed sculpture, symbolizing a synergy of the senses that enlighten the mind, will be presented to Mr. Albee at that time.
“Over and over again, Mr. Albee has demonstrated the vision, dedication, and perseverance to be an unparalleled creative force in the world,” Academy co-founder Michael Jamanis explains on their choice for the first award recipient. “His artistry and insights into the human spirit will resonate for generations to come.”
The Pennsylvania Academy of Music Creativity Award has been established to showcase outstanding contributions from some of the world’s greatest talent. “By honoring those who have made us look inward, outward, upward, or onward, we encourage the creative aspirations of our students, faculty, community and the world at large,” says Mr. Jamanis.
The influence of award-winning playwright Edward Albee has been felt on stages around the world since The Zoo Story was first produced in Berlin in 1958. Twenty-nine plays, four Tony Awards, and three Pulitzer Prizes later, he continues to be a force of innovation in American theatre. Through his Edward F. Albee Foundation and operation of the “Barn” at Montauk, New York, he encourages and empowers emerging artists in multiple venues.
Mr. Albee has been a distinguished recipient of the Gold Medal in Drama from the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, Kennedy Center Honors, and the National Medal of Arts. In 2005, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Music recently opened a new $25-million school and professional performance center, the last performing arts venue designed by the late Philip Johnson with acoustics by Cyril Harris, who also designed the acoustics for Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera House, and the Kennedy Center. Founded in 1989, the Academy is distinguished by its unique blend of world-class education and performance in a facility designed specifically for this dual purpose. It is one of only 12 autonomous pre-collegiate schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
The Pennsylvania Academy of Music is a non-profit pre-collegiate institution dedicated to the musical advancement of its students. Founded in 1990, the Academy attracts students from an immediate nine-county area as well as from around the world, who study disciplines ranging from instrumental, chamber music, orchestra, opera and vocal performance to music composition and theory, improvisation, accompanying ,jazz and recording. The Academy has a widely accomplished international faculty and is one of only 12 autonomous pre-collegiate music schools in the country accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
