Chita Rivera to Host 2010 Marian Anderson Award Gala Honoring Bill Cosby

Tony Award winner Chita Rivera will host the Philadelphia Orchestra’s gala award ceremony when Bill Cosby receives the 2010 Marian Anderson Award on April 6 at the Kimmel Center.

Both conductor James DePriest, who happens to be Anderson’s nephew, and Thomas Wilkins, music director of the Omaha Symphony, will lead the orchestra at the performance. Among the other artists scheduled to appear are opera star Denyce Graves, jazz vocalist Lizz Wright, comedian David Brenner, and jazz musicians Bootsie Barnes and Tony Williams.

The Marian Anderson Award honors artists whose leadership on behalf of a humanitarian cause(s) or issue(s) benefits society. Previous recipients include Maya
Angelou and Norman Lear (2008), Richard Gere (2007), Sidney Poitier (2006), Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis (2005), Oprah Winfrey (2003), Danny Glover (2002), Quincy Jones (2001), Elizabeth Taylor (2000), Gregory Peck (1999), and Harry Belafonte (1998). No award was given in 2004 or 2009.

For further information, visit www.philorch.org.