Martina Arroyo, Philip Glass, Branford Marsalis, et al. to Receive NEA Lifetime Achievement Awards

Brian Scott Lipton

New York City

June 24, 2010

Branford Marsalis

Tony Award nominee Branford Marsalis and fellow family members Delfeayo, Ellis, Jr., Jason, and Wynton Marsalis will be among the recipients of The National Endowment for the Arts' lifetime achievement awards on Friday in the fields of opera, jazz, and folk and traditional arts, according to a report in The New York Times. Each award comes with $25,000.

The other recipients are composer Philip Glass; singer Martina Arroyo; David DiChiera, a composer and the general director of the Michigan Opera Theatre; Eve Queler, the music director of Opera Orchestra of New York; Orrin Keepnews, a writer and record producer; flutist Hubert Laws; David Liebman, a saxophonist and flutist; and composer and arranger Johnny Mandel.

Also being honored are Yacub Addy, a Ghanaian drummer; fiddler Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, Gladys Kukana Grace, a Lauhala weaver; Mary Jackson, a sweetgrass basketweaver; Delano "Del" Floyd McCoury, a bluegrass guitarist and singer; Judith McCulloh, a folklorist and editor; dancer Kamala Lakshmi; Mike Rafferty, an Irish flute player; and Ezequiel Torres, an Afro-Cuban drummer and drum builder.

Branford Marsalis composed the original score for the current Broadway revival of Fences, which earned him a 2010 Tony Award nominationfor Best Score.