Music Educator and Jazz Recording Artist Dr. Willie L. Hill, Jr. To Keynote

PORTLAND, OR (4/3/06) – Participation in the arts helps students learn in all areas of academics. For 45 years, Young Audiences of Oregon and Washington has been teaming artists and students to bring about arts for learning, but they haven’t done it alone. This year Young Audiences will award outstanding contributions in arts education throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington at the 2006 Sunburst Awards. The ceremony will be held in Portland on Wednesday, May 24, 7:30am, at The Governor Hotel, 614 SW 11th Ave. Single seat tickets are $40, or you can reserve a table for eight for $320. Tickets can be purchased by calling Brenda MacRoberts at 503/225-5900, ext 233. Visit their website at www.ya-or.org.

“The Sunburst Awards Breakfast is a time when we can acknowledge the people working day to day with the students,” says Gail Hayes-Davis, Executive Director of Young Audiences, “and we love being able to thank those who work behind the scenes, dedicating their time and resources to help bring arts to students on a larger scale.”

This year’s ceremony also features Dr. Willie L. Hill, Jr. Dr. Hill is the Director of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a professor in music education. Dr. Hill, former director of education for the Thelonious Monk Institute in Los Angeles, has written numerous books on music education and was inducted into the Colorado Music Educators Hall of Fame. Dr. Hill is also a sought after performer, having played with everyone from Lou Rawls, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lena Horn.

This year’s Sunburst Awards categories and recipients are:

Education:

• Tressa Bauer, Principal, Laurelhurst Elementary
• Mei-Ann Chen, Conductor, Portland Youth Philharmonic
• Glencoe Elementary School

Artist and Arts Organization:

• Albert Alter
• Gretchen Corbett
• Oregon Children’s Theatre

Advocacy:

• Virginia Willard, Executive Director, NWBCA
• Lois Read, Teacher, Harvey Scott Elementary School

Philanthropy:

• Architects in Schools
• The Columbian
• Portland General Electric Company & Foundation

Lifetime Achievement:

• John Hampton, Philanthropist
• Don Keller, Principal, Willamina Elementary School

Young Audiences of Oregon and Southwest Washington is the local chapter of the nation’s leading arts-in-education organization. Its mission is to enhance young people’s learning with creative resources from the arts community, and believes that comprehensive arts programming is vital to the quality of our children’s education. To help schools meet this need, Young Audiences provides a network of services, including in-school performances, classroom workshops, artist residencies, and field trips to cultural events. Through these services, teachers, students and parents learn in new ways from the community’s artists. For more information about Young Audiences, please contact Gail Hayes Davis, Executive Director, or Brenda MacRoberts, Run For The Arts, Sponsorships and Events Specialist, at 503/225-5900.