THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290761
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
It's time for the third annual unofficial Clipper Arts and Entertainment Awards.
There are no plaques, no certificates and no prize money involved, just a happy remembrance of those Chesapeake citizens who have made the city a little brighter during 1995 by contributing to its arts and cultural climate.
Keep in mind that these ``awards'' are not scientific or all-encompassing and are listed in no order or degree of importance. And if we missed your name this year, keep on creating and maybe we'll catch up with you in 1996.
The envelopes, please:
Beatrice Zak Thomas is the commissioner of the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission. This Buffalo, N.Y., native brings a degree of class and talent to the city and commission. A mezzo-soprano, she has sung light opera, performed professionally, and hosted a television show in Montgomery, Ala.
Sean Petersen, a Western Branch teenager and son of Kermette and John Petersen, is a genuine young vocal and performing talent. The Nansemond-Suffolk Academy eighth-grader was in the Virginia Opera's production of ``Tosca,'' sang the title role in the Commonwealth Stage's ``Oliver'' and has performed throughout the region. He made music history by singing the role of the young Simon Bolivar in the VOA's world premier of Thea Musgrave's modern opera, ``Simon Bolivar.''
Mark Cox, Richard Hutt, Tim Martin, Ralph Garner and Randy Williford make up the production team at the city's WCTV-23, public television station. This group won a national public information award for cities with populations of more than 50,000 for the slick and expertly produced ``This Week in the General Assembly,'' a show that chronicles the actions of the city's lawmakers in Richmond. They were cited for their use of animation, graphics and location shots.
The Hardwick Chamber Ensemble is a chamber music quartet lending class and contemporary classical music throughout Chesapeake and the country. Made up of Chesapeake residents John and Jeanette Winsor and Suzanne Schreck along with Virginia Beach resident Marlene Ford, this serious music ensemble has presented programs that featured little-known ensemble works, contemporary classical music by African-American composers and the efforts of women composers, along with John Winsor's own nationally award-winning original works.
``The Healing Arts,'' sponsored by Chesapeake General Hospital and the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission was a revolutionary new approach to creativity and therapy. Based on an idea by Chesapeake Fine Arts coordinator L. Randy Harrison, this exhibit was organized to highlight the opening of the hospital's Cancer Treatment Center. But it became more. The exhibit showed off the dazzling art works created by artists who had survived or suffered through cancer. It proved that the trauma caused by cancer could be channeled into creative energy, acting as therapy and comfort for both the patients and art lovers.
Theresa Brown, Bob Holland, Ken Wright, Joseph Dillabough, Karen Kinser, Lynn Hosegood, Wilbur Chadwick, Devi Ann Moore and Billie Edwards are just a few of the innovative artists living in Chesapeake today, proving that the city is rich in talent. These men and women are all expert in their craft offering a dizzying array of styles, techniques and creativity.
Oliver ``DJ-O'' Jacobs Jr. is a 24-year-old Chesapeake native who made a name for himself as a top local disc jockey, perfecting turntable techniques and rhythms. Jacobs took a huge chance, traveling to Ethiopia at the invitation from someone he had never met. He's now one of that African country's top DJs and hopes to increase cultural ties between the U.S. and his newly adopted African home.
Nakeya Hudson, Zachary Casebolt, Chris Conley, Christie Beck, William Belongia, Andrew Sobel and Andrew Wong are the seven perfect score winners for the 1995 Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission grants. The ``Perfect Seven'' displayed creativity, confidence and innovations in the areas of art, dance, music and music composition. These seven greatly impressed audition judge Maestro Russell Stanger, former director of the Virginia Symphony and internationally known conductor.
Woody R. Fincham II is a 1995 graduate of Oscar F. Smith High School who used the knowledge learned in Frank Matthews' control technology class to create a cover for The Clipper's June 18 high school graduation issue. Fincham used his computer graphics skill to come up with a colorful cover that effectively symbolized Chesapeake and the new horizons opened after graduation from high school.
William ``Bill'' Blake is a Western Branch resident and English teacher in the Portsmouth Public School system. Blake is also a one-man cultural resource. He's a Civil War re-enactor, active with Friends of the Chesapeake Public Library, a docent at the Hunter House Victorian Museum and current president of the Norfolk Story League. Blake epitomizes the creative and restless mind always bent on learning, teaching and finding joy in books, history and culture.
Andrea ``Aundie'' Moore is a Chesapeake teen with an explosive operatic voice. The daughter of Glenda and William Moore vows one day to be one of the youngest divas at the New York Metropolitan Opera. And judging from her past performances, she probably will. The All-City Chorus member thrilled an audience at the prestigious Zeta Phi Beta Sorority's national convention in Washington, D.C., this past summer and won a fourth-place finish at the Hal Jackson's Talented Teen Pageant.
Shawn Eure, Veronica McMillan, Phyllis Williams and MenAnkhtaib Bragg are the founders of the Chesapeake based Kujichagulia Christian Academy, a school dedicated to preserving and fostering the African culture of the city's African-American children. Last summer the four also began the first African-American Family Day, which featured an array of inspirational speakers, authors, poets, artists and musical talent. The school and its founders believe in cultural diversity, tolerance and celebration of other cultures and the importance of their own African roots.
Indian River High School and the school's Band Boosters Association have collaborated for the past 23 years to bring one of the most colorful spectacles held in this area: the Tidewater Fall Festival of Marching Bands. Every year the school and the association invite scores of schools from around the area, state and beyond to participate in a competition full of marching, blaring brass music, banners, splendid uniforms, intricate drill routines to make even John Philip Sousa proud.
Sterling Riggs is a well-known area singer and entertainer. Although he's adept at several country and other pop music styles, the South Norfolk resident is best known for his energetic and right-on-the-money portrayal of the Elvis Presley in his ``Tribute to Elvis Show.'' He was so good, in fact, that he walked away with most awards at the ``Viva Elvis - Elvis Is Everywhere Festival'' held at Virginia Beach last summer.
Carolyn Hine Johnson and Scott Johnson, a.k.a. The Johnsons are a performing husband-and-wife team from Chesapeake. They are members of the prestigious Young Audiences of Virginia network, bringing musical and cultural understanding to area schools. As Beaux Arts the Pirate and Maria the Dancer, the Johnsons sing and dance their way through a program about the cultural origins and makeup of this country.
The Chesapeake Teen Advisory Board and Kenny Stuart collaborated on an ambitious project that resulted in a professionally made and produced half-hour video addressing the concerns of today's teen-agers. Stuart helped oversee the project using the talents of the city's teens who wrote, produced, directed and acted in all of the vignettes. The video has since been universally praised for its subject matter, production values and professionalism. Not bad for a first-time project. by CNB