Jeri Lynne Johnson and Joan Myers Brown to be Honored at the Arts + Business Council Awards
Jeri Lynne Johnson (LTA '09) and the Black Pearl Orchestra will receive the PNC Arts Alive for Arts Innovation in Honor of Peggy Amsterdam, and Joan Myers Brown (LTA '13) will be honored with the Anne d'Harnoncourt Award for Artistic Excellence during the Arts + Business Council of Greater Philadelphia's 33rd Annual Awards Celebration on May 23.
The Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra was founded with a mission of making classical music more engaging and relevant for audiences. Its Founder, Jeri Lynne Johnson, decided to create a 21st century orchestra that fosters innovation, grants hands-on access to the music and embraces cultural diversity at every level. Johnson keeps classical music relevant to people of color and young people by ensuring the orchestra looks like the community it serves and considerations of community engagement inform all of Black Pearl’s programming. Diversity, equity and inclusion are not special projects or current trends for Black Pearl; DEI is in its DNA and the orchestra exists to innovate.
Joan Myers Brown is an artist, a visionary, and an entrepreneur. Founder of the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) in 1970, and The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts in 1960, In addition to her own companies, she serves as honorary chairperson for the International Association of Blacks in Dance, an organization she established in 1991. She is also founder of the International Conference of Black Dance Companies. She is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts, which bestowed upon her an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Ursinus College, and is a member of the dance faculty at Howard University. Most recently, she received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. She has made significant contributions to the national and international arts communities.
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