NEW YORK (The Recording Academy) - GRAMMY-winning artists Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Yoko Ono & John Lennon, and
Howard Shore have been named as recipients of the New York Chapter's 2005 Recording Academy Honors. The Recording Academy Honors was established to celebrate outstanding individuals whose work embodies excellence and integrity and who have improved the environment for the creative community.
The gala event, which will attract recording artists, key entertainment executives and community leaders, will be held Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. at Gotham Hall. Formerly known as the Heroes Awards, this annual New York gala supports the Chapter's ongoing advocacy, education and professional development programs. The most recent beneficiary is
Thomas Jefferson High School, which will receive a $10,000 grant each year for the next three years to support their after-school music classes and three annual scholarships for students who will pursue a career in the music industry.
The evening will begin with a cocktail hour followed by dinner and the tribute presentations with celebrity presenters and performers. The event is sponsored by ASCAP, Toys 'R Us Children's Fund, BMI, ABKCO, EMI Music/EMI Music Publishing, Greenberg Traurig, Songwriters' Hall of Fame, and SESAC.
Tickets for The Recording Academy Honors gala are $200 for Academy members and $300 for non-members and are available by calling the New York Chapter office at 212.245.5440. Sponsorship packages and table sales also are available.
Honorees:
Mariah Carey
With her unique talent and signature vocal abilities, Mariah Carey commanded the world's attention when she made her musical debut in the early '90s. In less than a decade, Carey emerged as one of the most popular and widely acclaimed talents in music. As a singer and songwriter, she has been recognized with the most prestigious accolades in the industry including two GRAMMY Awards, Billboard's "Artist of the Decade" Award and the World Music Award for "World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium" to name a few. As the best-selling female performer of all time, Carey has continuously raised the bar and set the standard of excellence within the music industry worldwide.
Jay-Z
Shawn Carter (aka Jay-Z) has established himself as an entrepreneur, performer, trendsetter, spokesman and philanthropist. Since the formation of his own record company, Roc-A-Fella Records, and the subsequent release of his 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, Carter has cemented his reputation as one of the most formidable icons in both business and entertainment. Throughout his career, he has refined old-guard notions of what makes a successful businessman. He was named one of Time magazine's "Most Influential People of 2004," and last year, Carter began a new chapter of his career when he was named President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, responsible for executive oversight of the creative development, marketing, and distribution of recording projects for the multimillion-dollar record label.
Yoko Ono & John Lennon
Yoko Ono and John Lennon began their love affair in the spring of 1968, stirring controversy, creating art and making music together until his untimely death in 1980. Until the blending of their lives, each had very unique and extraordinary artistic careers that eventually landed them together at her art exhibit in 1966, where Lennon was impressed by her work. Lennon had a very interesting - and frustrating - solo career. He was capable of inspired, brutally honest confessional songwriting and melodic song craft, but he also had a tendency to rest on his laurels, churning out straight-ahead rock and roll without much care. But the extremes, both in his music and his life, were what made him fascinating. Ono is a multimedia artist who constantly challenges and stretches the traditional boundaries of sculpture, painting, theater and music. Her seminal performance art in the early '60s, experimental films and collaborative music with Lennon in the '70s, and international one-woman shows and retrospectives during the '80s and '90s illustrate her varied career. Lennon and Ono used their 1969 honeymoon as an event to promote world peace. The "Bed In" is still looked upon as a major 20th century peace event and encouraged people worldwide to pursue peace. In 1978, Ono and Lennon established the Spirit Foundation to support women and children's charities. In 1981, Ono dedicated the Strawberry Fields Peace Park in Central Park as a memorial to Lennon and the people of the world. In 2001, Ono created the biennial Lennon Ono Grant for Peace, awarded to two individuals who have made significant contributions to the worldwide peace process.
Howard Shore
In the intensely collaborative world of film, it is rare when an individual artist creates a presence so innovative and original that it forever bears his unique creative stamp. Howard Shore is such an artist. Shore's impressive work encompasses an astonishing array of cinematic styles and sensibilities. The first episode of the trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, proved to be a hit with both moviegoers and his musician peers alike, earning him his first Oscar. Shore composed the music for the second and third films of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy - The Two Towers and The Return Of The King. Shore was awarded a second and third Oscar, for score and the song "Into the West", when The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King swept the awards. Shore also has scored "Best Picture" winner The Silence Of The Lambs, as well as The Aviator, Gangs Of New York, Ed Wood, Se7en, The Cell, Naked Lunch, Philadelphia, Mrs. Doubtfire, Big and most recently A History of Violence, his 11th collaboration with director David Cronenberg. In all, Shore is credited with more than 60 films of extraordinary work. Among his many achievements, he also has won four GRAMMY Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He was the original Musical Director of "Saturday Night Live."
Thomas Jefferson High School
In 2004, Mayor Michael Bloomberg identified Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn as one of the most dangerous schools in New York. The school suffered poor daily attendance and a less than stellar graduation rate, but that all changed with the new leadership of Principal Varleton McDonald. Now, the once failing school has decreased its incidents of violence and boasts an improved attendance rate. This year, Thomas Jefferson High School will graduate the highest number of students it has graduated in five years. The school - with the help of New York Chapter Governor Ray Chew - will celebrate its success and achievements at their first annual "Orange Wave Unity Day" talent show at the end of the school year. On Dec. 7, the New York Chapter will recognize the school's accomplishments.
Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as The Recording Academy, is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs - including the creation of the national public education campaign What's The Download (www.WhatsTheDownload.com). For more information about The Recording Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.
