{"id":431,"date":"2019-07-17T18:18:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/greenereceivesgovernorsartsaward\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:18:19","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:19","slug":"greenereceivesgovernorsartsaward","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/greenereceivesgovernorsartsaward\/","title":{"rendered":"2013 Jazz artist Jimmy Greene of WCSU to receive Governor’s Arts Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DANBURY, CONN. <\/strong>\u2014 Jazz artist and Western Connecticut State University<\/a> professor Jimmy Greene<\/a> will receive the Governor’s Arts Award<\/a> at a presentation ceremony and concert at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 15<\/strong>, during the International Festival for Arts and Ideas<\/a> in New Haven.<\/p>\n

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Greene, an internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer and bandleader, will join writer and Yale University professor Elizabeth Alexander and artist and University of Connecticut professor Olu Oguibe as the 2013 recipients of the Governor\u2019s Arts Awards. An assistant professor of music and assistant coordinator of jazz studies at WCSU, Greene also will lead a performance by the Jimmy Greene Quintet featuring Kenny Barron on piano, Lewis Nash on drums and John Patitucci on bass. Soul and rhythm-and-blues singer Aaron Neville, renowned for his unique vocal stylings inspired by his New Orleans musical heritage, will perform a program of classic doo-wop pieces in the headline act of the concert.<\/p>\n

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The awards program and concert will be held on the Elm Street Stage at the New Haven Green. Admission will be free and the public is invited to attend. <\/p>\n

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The Governor\u2019s Arts Awards recognize outstanding service to the arts in Connecticut. Founded 35 years ago, the program has honored more than 140 recipients including professionals in the performing and visual arts, educators, businesses and arts organizations. Greene and other 2013 recipients of the award will discuss their work and commitment to artistic development in Connecticut as participants in a panel discussion<\/a> at 3 p.m. on June 15 at the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St. in New Haven. The forum, presented as part of the festival, will be free and the public is invited. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI am supremely honored to receive the Governor\u2019s Arts Award for 2013, and grateful to Governor (Dannel) Malloy and the Connecticut Office of the Arts for bestowing this prestigious honor upon me,\u201d Greene said. \u201cReviewing the list of past recipients is quite humbling, indeed. I am blessed to have learned at the feet of such giants of the arts in Connecticut and to have lived most of my life here. There is a vibrant, inspirational community of musicians and artists here in Connecticut, and I am proud to be a small part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Greene is a Hartford area native who attended Bloomfield High School, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and the Artists Collective. He graduated summa cum laude with a music degree from the Hartt School of the University of Hartford. Since his debut in 1997 on the New York jazz scene, he has gained a reputation as a prolific recording artist, leading sideman, widely traveled concert performer and innovative composer of jazz scores.<\/p>\n

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Named in 1999 as one of Down Beat magazine\u2019s \u201c25 Young Rising Stars in Jazz,\u201d he has released a series of critically acclaimed albums and received numerous honors including the commission to compose and perform \u201cAnthem of Hope\u201d in honor of jazz legend Ornette Coleman. In April, Greene brought together an array of leading jazz artists to participate in the opening 2013 WCSU Jazz Fest concert, \u201cFriends of Jimmy Greene,\u201d dedicated to the victims of the December 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Greene and his wife, Nelba Marquez-Greene, lost their 6-year-old daughter Ana Grace in the tragedy.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cIn his first year here at Western, and despite the tremendous difficulties he has had to endure, Jimmy Greene has proven to be an invaluable member of our department and an outstanding role model to our students,\u201d remarked Jamie Begian, chair of the WCSU Department of Music and director of the jazz studies program. \u201cI was very happy to hear that Jimmy was chosen as a recipient of this award.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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\n Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities.<\/em><\/p>\n

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