Quincy Jones, Prodigious Musician and Humanitarian, Named Fourth Recipient of Philadelphia´s Marian Anderson Award, Honoring Artists Whose Leadership Benefits Humanity
Marian Anderson Award Gala Performance featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra to take place on October 22 at the Academy of Music
Quincy Jones musician, composer, record and film producer, arranger, conductor, record and television company executive, magazine founder, and multi-media entrepreneur who has reaped high praise for promoting diversity in the music industry, will be the fourth recipient of Philadelphia's Marian Anderson Award, Mayor John F. Street announced during a press conference at the Sofitel Hotel today. "It is an honor to announce Quincy Jones as the winner of this year's Marian Anderson Award," said Mayor John F. Street. "Mr. Jones is truly one of the greatest musical artists of our time. His historic recording We Are The World,' for which he served as producer and conductor, illuminates his lifetime dedication to music and is a great example of how he has succeeded in using music to unite people throughout the world for the good of all humankind."
Jones, whose humanitarian works have stretched world-wide, including co-founding the annual Black Arts Festival in Chicago, the formation of the Institute for Black American Music, and performing at such benefit concerts as Net Aid and The American Society of Young Musicians, has been recognized for his altruistic and philanthropic efforts in the past by Amnesty International, AmFAR, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Children's Defense Fund, the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and the Republic of France, among a multitude of others. Commented Jones, "I am thrilled and honored to accept this year's Marian Anderson Award from the City of Philadelphia and I am looking forward to coming to the city in October. Ms. Anderson was a pioneer in every sense of the word, and I am humbled to receive an award that bears her name."