IU alumna to recieve state arts award

A 1997 graduate of the Jacobs School of Music will receive one of six 2009 Indiana Governor’s Arts Awards.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Indiana Arts Commission will present Angela Brown, now one of the world’s leading operatic sopranos, with the award Sept. 25 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in Muncie.

“I am honored to recognize Angela Brown for her significant investment and contribution to the arts in our state and beyond,” Daniels said in a press release.

Brown, who studied under Distinguished Professor Emerita Virginia Zeani while at IU, made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2004.

She went on be invited by then-President George W. Bush to sing at the National Cathedral to honor the victims of Hurricane Katrina and by the Library of Congress to sing for the Bicentennial Celebration of Abraham Lincoln, among other events.

The Ball Brothers Foundation, the George and Frances Ball Foundation, the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Sweetwater Sound Inc. of Fort Wayne and Vectren Corporation of Evansville will also receive arts awards.

“These recipients have demonstrated a commitment to their field, their communities, and to building a stronger Indiana by their investment of time, talent and leadership in the arts,” said Lewis Ricci, executive director of the Indiana Arts Commission.

The Indiana Governor’s Arts Awards honor individuals, organizations, partnerships, businesses and communities that have made significant contributions to the arts both in Indiana and elsewhere.