Governor’s Arts Awards celebrate 6

Outstanding artists, performers and supporters of the arts from across the state were honored Thursday night at the 2007 Indiana Governor’s Arts Awards.\nThe awards ceremony was held at the Musical Arts Center – the first time it has been outside of Indianapolis in its 35-year run.\nDistinguished Professor Menehem Pressler, 83, of the IU Jacobs School of Music, was one of the six honorees.\nPressler, one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio, has been performing and educating for over 50 years and is the senior faculty member of the Jacobs School of Music. \nGwyn Richards, dean of Jacobs, said it was an honor that Pressler had chosen to spend 52 of his 83 years in Bloomington, contributing to the community and the music school. \n“He moves people, and they in turn, thankful for being shaken from their complacency, shower him with recognition,” Richards said. \nPressler performed “Nocturne in C Sharp Minor” by Frederick Chopin for the attendees before accepting his award. \nAnother Bloomington link in the awards ceremony was the award itself.\nKaren Green Stone, a Bloomington potter, was commissioned to create the porcelain awards. She created handmade bowls based on the shape of the Indiana state flower, the peony.\nThe Governor’s Art Awards, given every two years, represent the highest honor given by the state to emphasize the role the arts play in the state’s culture and economy. The awards are hosted by the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency committed to the expansion, promotion and encouragement of the arts. \nGovernor Mitch Daniels commended the state of Indiana’s cultural diversity, saying that commitment to the arts is vitally important right now in the state and nation’s history.\n“There’s the old cliche that music tames the savage beast,” he said. “Today’s popular culture seems to inflame the beast, so to speak, so we need fine art to show our young people what true beauty is.” \nOther winners were Henry Leck and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir; the Fischoff National Chamber Music Organization of Notre Dame, Ind.; Lori Efroymson Aguilera of Indianapolis, a community leader in the arts; Jamey Aebersold of New Albany, Ind., a saxophonist and educator; and the City of Jasper, Ind., the first honoree to win twice for its support of the arts. \nLewis Ricci, executive director of the Indiana Arts Commission, praised the state government for its 30 percent increase in state funds – the first such increase in over a decade. \nRicci introduced a video celebrating Bloomington native and popular musician Hoagy Carmichael, a 1975 Governor’s Arts Awards recipient. \nAebersold performed the Carmichael song “Stardust” before accepting his award. \nDaniels said he is working to ensure that in the future, Indiana will be known as a place of distinction in the arts. \n“When people think of the finest in culture, they will think of a place called Indiana,” he said.