Patience may be a virtue, but persistence earns a fair share of recognition as well. At the 14th annual Tribute to the Classical Arts awards luncheon last Monday (Feb. 18), cumulative efforts were a common denominator in special recognition awards. Jefferson Performing Arts Society director Dennis Assaf accepted a special award on behalf of JPAS, which recently marked its 30th anniversary and is overseeing construction of the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. "It's a dream come true," Assaf told the audience in the Monteleone Hotel. "But I didn't think it would take 30 years." To the amusement of attendees, he recounted the group's ad hoc start looking for a meeting place for a choral group, to performing seasons spread among area churches, synagogues and mall spaces, to the current construction of its own multimillion-dollar home for a full range of arts programming. The center is expected to open in late 2009 or 2010.

Albinas and Manon Prizgintas also were recognized for their contribution to the arts. As part of Trinity Episcopal Church's musical ministry, the couple started the weekly Trinity Artist Series 20 years ago. In two decades, only 20 shows have been canceled, all because of Mardi Gras, Albinas said. The two also initiated the church's annual Independence Day celebration and the Bach Around the Clock 29-hour marathon of classical music, an event described as a "high-art Bacchanal."

Jazz patriarch Ellis Marsalis introduced Lifetime Achievement Award winner Roger Dickerson. The two were teenage friends before entering the armed forces and going their separate ways. Both played jazz when they were young, but Dickerson eventually pursued classical music as well. His compositions include A Musical Service for Louis and For the Love of Jesus in honor of Henriette DeLille. He's been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes and was a Fulbright scholar.

'The infusion of our culture and having developed a formal approach to composition gives [Dickerson's] music its uniqueness," Marsalis said.

Loyola University music professors Ellen and Philip Frohnmayer were recognized for their careers as educators. The award presentation was preceded by a performance by their daughter Anne Marie Frohnmayer. She and Taylor Miller sang the love duet from The Magic Flute.

Also in the realm of opera, New Orleans Opera Association artistic director Robert Lyall accepted two honors for the organization. The group won the award for best production for Il Trittico, the Puccini trio of one-acts the group adapted to New Orleans settings. The group also was honored for creative achievement in opera for its New Year's Eve gala presentation with performers from New Orleans and New York. Lyall credited arts patron Betty Brooks Doss for her support, marking the second year she has been recognized at the event for her role in a major presentation of opera after Katrina. Doss was honored at the 2007 Tribute to the Classical Arts for her instrumental role in creating "A Night for New Orleans" featuring Placido Domingo in March 2006.

The passing on of traditions to new generations and revival of classical pieces underscored the return to normalcy for the arts scene two years after Katrina. Host Angela Hill noted the many fresh faces in the art scene. Among the performances at the luncheon was one by NORD/NOBA dancers and another by the young troupe, Tsunami Dance Company, which collected two awards.

The final performance of the afternoon was a portion of Origin of Life on Earth, a dance piece about spiritual and artistic tradition from Africa. Jointly presented by the Ashe Cultural Arts Center and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, the piece had been in development for almost a decade. Its young dancers were not around for the beginning of that process, but with the fresh choreography of Michele Gibson, they infused it with energy and grace to earn it the award for best ethnic dance performance in 2007.

Tribute to the Classical Arts is sponsored by Gambit Weekly, Coleman E. Adler & Sons, WWNO 89.9 FM Radio, Hall Piano Company, John and Anne Burr, the Hotel Monteleone and Uptown Costume and Dancewear.

2008 Classical Arts Winners

Special Recognition

Lifetime Achievement Award
Roger Dickerson

Arts Education Award
Philip & Ellen Frohnmayer

Special Recognition Award
Jefferson Performing Arts Society

Outstanding Contribution Award
Albinas & Manon Prizgintas

Performance Awards

Best Classical Music Performance
Music of the Spheres
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra,
Klauspeter Seibel, Principal Guest Conductor

Best Chamber Music Performance
Musaica
Second Season

Best Performance of New Classical Music
Symphony No. 8 (Music of the Spheres) By Stephen Dankner
LPO Music of the Spheres concert

Best Opera Production
Il Trittico
Robert Lyall, Conductor
Jay Jackson, Director
New Orleans Opera Association

Creative Achievement In Opera
New Year's Eve with the New Orleans Opera
New Orleans Opera Association
Betty Brooks Doss, Producer
Robert Lyall, General Director

Best Choral Arts Presentation
New Orleans Opera Chorus
New Year's Eve with the New Orleans Opera
Carol Rausch, Director

Best Classical Ballet Production
In The Land of Dreamy Dreams
Delta Festival Ballet
Joseph and Maria Giacobbe, Artistic Directors

Best Modern Dance Production
Portraits in a Forgotten City
Tsunami Dance Company
Kettye Voltz and Erin Healan, Artistic Directors

Best Ethnic Dance Presentation
Origin of Life on Earth
Directed by Dollie E. Rivas
The Ashé Cultural Arts Center & JPAS
Carol Bebelle, Executive Director, Ashe CAC

Best Choreography Ñ New Work
Anna Morris and John Allen
"Above This Dead Weight Night"
Tsunami Dance Company's Portraits in a Forgotten City