SAN
FRANCISCO (Governors Awards) - Musical luminaries the Doobie Brothers,
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the Whispers will be honored by the
San Francisco Chapter of The Recording Academy with the 2005 Governors
Award for creative excellence and outstanding achievement. In addition,
the 2005 Governors Award for Community Service will be bestowed upon
Oakland East Bay Symphony
Music Director Michael Morgan.
The
2005 Governors Awards gala - the Chapter's largest fund-raiser of the
year - will be held on Sunday, June 12, from 6 - 10 p.m. in the Grand
Ballroom of the historic Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco's
Union Square. The event will feature an elegant cocktail reception,
formal dinner, silent auction and an awards presentation, which will
pay tribute to the honorees with VIP presenters and special
performances.
Proceeds from the evening will benefit the San
Francisco Chapter Education Fund, and will endow The Recording
Academy's educational and professional development programs for the
local music community. Sponsorship and ticket information can be
obtained by contacting the San Francisco Chapter office at 415.749.0779
or via e-mail at
[email protected].
The music of the
GRAMMY Award-winning
Doobie Brothers helped define an era and inspire a
generation. Incorporating masterful instrumentation with lush vocal
harmonies, the
Doobie Brothers consistently defied stereotypes drawing
on blues, rock, soul, country, funk and gospel influences to create a
sound that is at once wholly unique and widely influential. As one of
the most popular California bands of the 1970s, songs like "Listen To
The Music," "Black Water," and "China Grove" became anthems of their
day.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has appeared at 13 of the
World's Fairs and Expositions, performed at the inaugurations of five
U.S. presidents, and sung for numerous worldwide telecasts and special
events. The 360 members represent men and women from many different
backgrounds and professions and reflect a medley of unique lives and
experiences, joined together by their love for singing and faith. In
addition to the Choir's GRAMMY Award for its 1959 performance of "The
Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the Philadelphia Orchestra, five of
the Choir's recordings have achieved gold record status and two have
gone platinum.
R&B quintet the Whispers are veteran
hit-makers boasting a 23-year musical career. Formed by twins Walter
and Wallace Scott, plus Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson and Gordy
Harmon, the Whispers' 1964 chart-topper, "I Was Born When You Kissed
Me," was the beginning of a long musical legacy. Since then, the
group's music has continued to influence a wide range of R&B, soul,
rock and urban artists. Unforgettable Whispers classics include "The
Time Has Come," "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong," "And The Beat Goes On,"
and the urban contemporary hit, "Rock Steady."
Michael Morgan
currently is in his 15th year as
Music Director of the Oakland East Bay
Symphony. He also serves as Artistic
Director of the Oakland Youth
Orchestra,
Music Director of the Sacramento Philharmonic, and Artistic
Director of Festival Opera in Walnut Creek, Calif. Maestro
Morgan makes
frequent appearances as guest conductor with orchestras throughout the
United States, and has conducted the San Francisco Symphony and San
Francisco Ballet on many occasions. Annually, he makes about 100
appearances in the nation's schools, particularly in the East Bay, and
is widely regarded as an expert on the importance of arts education and
minority access to the arts.
The highest honor the San Francisco
Chapter can bestow, the Governors Award is presented to Bay Area music
professionals whose creative talents and accomplishments have crossed
all musical boundaries and who have been recognized as an asset to the
local music community. Governors Award recipients embody the highest
standards of excellence and integrity that The Recording Academy
champions and promotes.
Past Governors Award honorees include
Metallica, Joshua Redman, Mickey Hart,
Carlos Santana, Bill Graham,
Joan Baez, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kronos Quartet, Ali Akbar Khan, Orrin
Keepnews, Mimi Farina, Johnny Otis, Joe Satriani, the Hawkins Family,
the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, East Bay Center for Performing Arts,
Young Musicians Program, and Villa Sinfonia.
