BY JUDY CARMACK BROSS
MIC Chair Emerita and Honorary Co-Chair Alexandra Nichols 2019 Visionary Award recipients Caryn and King Harris – Bob-Carl.
A surprise finale performance by 2019 Dushkin Award recipient and legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis alongside Music Institute students capped the recent Music Institute of Chicago’s Anniversary Gala which raised over $850,000. The 300 guests, first greeted by a New Orleans brass band procession in their honor, cheered students representing every area of the Institute performing throughout the night.
Honorary Chairs Dan Pritzker and Karen Pritzker, and 2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis – Ana Miyares
Gala Co-Chairs Christine and Jeff Morse MIC Trustee and 2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis – Ana Miyares
Alexandra and John Nichols, Karen and Daniel Pritzker and Catherine and Frederick Waddell served as the Gala’s Honorary Chairs. Christine and Jeff Morse and Areta and Scott Verschoor were the Gala Chairs.
Wynton Marsalis – Ana Miyares.
Bandleader, trumpeter, educator and leading advocate for American culture, Marsalis has won 9 Grammy Awards and is the first jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize in addition to being presented the National Humanities Medal by President Obama in 2015. The Dushkin Award, begun 30 years ago to honor international music luminaries, was named for the Institute’s founders, Dorothy and David Dushkin.
One of the nation’s most distinguished and respected community music schools, the Music Institute presented its 10th annual Cultural Visionary Award for Chicago, recognizing individuals who have provided visionary philanthropic and civic leadership for the broad spectrum of arts in Chicago and Illinois, to Caryn and King Harris. Both known for their leadership and impact across Chicago, the couple represents what community dedication and focus can accomplish.
Chelsea Shepard, Susan Charles, Scott Verschoor
Susan Charles, a member of the Institute’s voice faculty who has also performed at many international venues, won the Richard D. Colburn Award for Teaching Excellence.
Third Coast Suzuki Strings, Matthew Hagle, MIC faculty Karin Addis, MIC faculty Carrie Schrader – Bob Carl
Young musicians from the Community Music School; award-winning students from the Music Institute’s renowned Academy, a training center for gifted pre-college musicians; young string students from Third Coast Suzuki Strings, a violin program on Chicago’s Northwest Side in collaboration with the YMCA of Metro Chicago kept guests on message and marvelously entertained throughout the evening.
Xena Quartet, Rodolfo Vieira, Wynton Marsalis – Ana Miyares
Established in 1931, the Music Institute works to change lives through music education. The gala is the primary source of scholarships and financial aid at the Institute’s 8 primary locations as well as through extensive outreach in the Chicago Public Schools and to other community based programs, benefitting 6500 students each year.
MIC President and CEO Mark George, Jason Rubinstein, and Gala Co-Chairs Areta and Scott Verschoor (MIC Trustee) -Bob Carl
Gala Host Committee members Bill Gantz, Linda Gantz, Karen Z. Gray-Krehbiel and John H. Krehbiel, Jr. – Bob Carl
Farid & Houri Shafaie, Edith & Neema Bayran, MIC Trustee Carlos Cardenas, and DL Morris – Bob Carl
Cindy Pritzker and Honorary Chair Dan Pritzker – Bob Carl
Jazz Ambassador Combo and 2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis – Ana Miyares
Honorary Chair John Nichols, 2019 Dushkin Award recipient Wynton Marsalis, and Honorary Chair and MIC Chair Emerita Alexandra Nichols – Ana Miyares
Victor Garcia-C Jam Blues – Ana Miyares
Paul Miller-C Jam Blues – Ana Miyares
Mitchell Nakamoto, Richard Ackermann, Wynton Marsalis – Ana Miyares
John Woolley, Paul DiLorenzo, Gage Bachmann – Ana Miyares
Friday Jazz Experiment – Ana Miyares
Eriko Darcy – Ana Miyares
MIC jazz faculty Victor Garcia – Bob Carl
Eriko Darcy, Yerin Yang, Yuelin Zhong, Colin Song 7 – Bob Carl
For further information, please go to musicinst.org
Photos by Bob Carl and Ana Miyares
