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A Classic Celebration

Twelfth annual Tribute to the Classical Arts

By David Lee Simmons

J Hammons and Erin Healan perform Mi Corazon, which earned Kettye Volz a nomination for Best Original Choreography.

The 12th annual Tribute to the Classic Arts luncheon on Monday, Feb. 28, will feature some impressive honorees as well as award-nominated performances in classical music, opera and dance. Muriel Moreland, retired dance professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and founder of the Dance Council of New Orleans, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In her more than 50 years in dance education, Moreland has been a tireless champion for modern dance programs and has taught such luminaries as Alice Pascal Esher, Marlene Pennison, Kathy Dejean, Dolly Rivas and Yvonne Olivier.

The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation will be presented with the Arts Patron Award; Lusher Alternative Elementary School will receive the Arts Education Award. A Special Recognition Award will be conferred on Jenny Thompson, general director of the NORD/NOBA Center for Dance, a partnership of the New Orleans Recreation Department and the New Orleans Ballet Association.

The luncheon, presented by the Big Easy Entertainment Awards, will feature 14 awards divided into the three categories, and will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Queen Anne Ballroom of the Hotel Monteleone (214 Royal St.; www.hotelmonteleone.com). The event is open to the public, seating is at tables for 10; tickets are $30 individual, $300 tables of 10. Call Gloria Powers for reservations at 486-5900, ext. 160. Seating is limited, and major credit cards are accepted. Wendy Rodrigue will serve as master of ceremonies.

The Tribute to the Classical Arts is sponsored by Gambit Weekly, WWNO (89.9 FM), the Hotel Monteleone, Bitsie Werlein Piano Company, Uptown Costume and Dance Company, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant and Adler's Jewelers.

SPECIAL HONOREES

Lifetime Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Muriel Moreland

Lifetime Achievement Award -- Muriel Moreland

Arts Patron Award -- Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation

Arts Education Award -- Lusher Alternative Elementary School

Special Recognition Award -- Jenny Thompson, general director of the NORD/NOBA Center for Dance

CLASSICAL MUSIC NOMINEES

Best Classical Music Performance

An Evening With Nadja and Lynn Harrell
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin; Lynn Harrell, cello; Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Klauspeter Seibel, conductor
Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts

Tricia Louque was nominated for Best Original Choreography for her Dichotomy of Passions.

Beethoven and Blue Jeans: "Rachmaninoff & Beethoven"
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
David Alan Miller, conductor; Hee Sung Joo, piano soloist
Orpheum Theater

LPO Classics: Mahler Symphony No. 3
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Klauspeter Seibel, conductor; Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, St. Louis Cathedral Boychoir
Orpheum Theater

Best Chamber Music Performance

Loyola University College of Music Montage Series
Patti Adams, flute; Jan Grimes, piano
Roussel Performance Hall

An Afternoon of Classical Music
New Orleans Chapter of the Links Inc.; Rachel Jordan, artistic director
UNO Performing Arts Center

Trinity Artist Series
Luke Fleming, violist; with Albinas Prizgintas, Katherine White and Edward White
Trinity Episcopal Church

Where Were You When They Dropped the Pill?, choreographed by Gregory Schramel and Marjorie Hardwick, was nominated for Best Original Choreography.

Best New Classical Music Performance
(Contemporary -- written in the past 25 years)

Symphony No. 5
Stephen Dankner, composer
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra; Klauspeter Seibel, conductor; soloists Ellen Frohnmayer, soprano, and Philip Frohnmayer, baritone; Symphony Chorus of New Orleans and Loyola University Chorale
Orpheum Theater

Leda and the Swan
Robert Aldridge, composer
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra; Marc Taddei, conductor
Orpheum Theater

Pavane at Giverny
Vernon Valentine Palmer, composer/performer
Trinity Artist Series
Trinity Episcopal Church

The Exhibit Dance Collective's Dances of Evolution was nominated for Best Modern Dance Performance.

OPERA NOMINEES

Best Opera Production

Tales of Hoffmann
New Orleans Opera Association
David Morelock, director; Robert Lyall, conductor

Das Rheingold
New Orleans Opera Association
David Morelock, director; Robert Lyall, conductor

The Magic Flute
Loyola University
David Morelock, director; Carol Rausch, conductor

Creative Achievement in Opera

The Jefferson Ballet Theatre's Symphonic Rock earned a nomination for Best Classical Ballet Performance.

Carol Rausch
Choral direction and editing of orchestra parts, Tales of Hoffmann
New Orleans Opera Association

Don Darnutzer
Lighting, Das Rheingold and Tales of Hoffmann
New Orleans Opera Association

David Morelock
Staging, The Magic Flute
Loyola Opera Workshop

Best Choral Arts Performance

Christmas on the Northshore
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
The St. Timothy Choir
Robert M. McBain, director
St. Timothy Methodist Church, Mandeville

Home for Christmas
Louisiana Vocal Arts Chorale
Dr. Meg Frazier, conductor
Holy Name of Jesus Church

The Loyola Opera Workshop's The Magic Flute received a nomination for Best Opera Production.

Orleans Chamber Singers, at Bach Around the Clock
Lauren Buckley, conductor
Trinity Episcopal Church

DANCE AWARDS NOMINEES

Best Classical Ballet Performance

The Nutcracker
Delta Festival Ballet
Supervised and directed by Joseph and Maria Giacobbe
Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts

Symphonic Rock, at An International Evening of Ballet
Jefferson Ballet Theatre; Myra Mier, director
NOCCA/Riverfront, Lupin Theatre

NOCCA Spring Dance Concert
NOCCA/Riverfront Department of Dance; Miguel Lopez, department chairman
NOCCA/Riverfront, Lupin Theatre

Violist Luke Fleming was nominated for Best Chamber Music Performance for his work at the Trinity Artist Series.

Best Modern Dance Performance

Go!
Tsunami Dance Company; Kettye Volz. director
NOCCA/Riverfront, Lupin Theatre

Dances of Evolution
Exhibit Dance Collective; Michelle Gibson, director
Delgado College Student Life Center

Sextette, at NOCCA Winter Dance Concert
Miguel Lopez, department chairman
NOCCA/Riverfront, Lupin Theatre

Best Ethnic Dance Performance

Bach Toccata in C Major, DramaRama 11
!Ole Flamenco Ole!; Teresa Romero Torkanowsky, company director
Contemporary Arts Center, Freeport-McMoRan Theatre

The Ka Caper, at DramaRama 11
Betty Karam (choreographer and company director) and the Desert Dancers
Contemporary Arts Center, Freeport-McMoRan Theatre

Tera Talli and Tippani, at DramaRama 11
Sunanda's Performing Arts Center; Sunanda Nair, company director
Contemporary Arts Center, Freeport-McMoRan Theatre

Best Original Choreography (new work)

Dichotomy of Passions
Choreography by Tricia Louque
Loyola Ballet, Loyola University
Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall
April 30 and May 1, 2004

Arangetram: A Solo Recital of Bharat Natyam Classical Indian Dance
Performed by Monika Roy
Choreography by Padmani Chari
Southern University New Orleans Auditorium

Where Were You When They Dropped the Pill?, at Balanchine Centennnial Celebration
Choreography by Gregory Schramel and Marjorie Hardwick
New Orleans Ballet Theatre
NOCCA/Riverfront, Lupin Theatre

Mi Corazon, at Go!
Choreography by Kettye Volz
Tsunami Dance NOCCA/Riverfront, Lupin Theatre