The Cleveland Orchestra and the GCP seek nominations for Dr M L King Jr Community Service Awards

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Cleveland, Ohio, November 11, 2008 - The Cleveland Orchestra and the Greater Cleveland Partnership, in cooperation with the City of Cleveland, are seeking nominations for the fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Awards, which will be presented at the Orchestra's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert at Severance Hall at 7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.  Awards will be presented in recognition of the services and achievements of an adult, youth and business or organization that have positively impacted Cleveland in the spirit of the teachings and example of Dr. King.

Nomination forms are available through the Web sites of The Cleveland Orchestra, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, or the City of Cleveland or by calling The Cleveland Orchestra's Department of Education and Community Programs, (216) 231-7355.  Nomination forms are due by Friday, Dec. 19, 2008, and should be mailed to: MLK Community Service Award, Attention:  Education and Community Programs, The Cleveland Orchestra, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, or e-mailed to sjones@clevelandorchestra.com  with MLK Community Service Award Nomination in the subject line.

A six-person panel composed of community leaders will select award recipients. The Nomination Committee will be chaired by Robert P. Madison, chief executive officer, Robert P. Madison International, Inc. and a member of the Musical Arts Association Board of Trustees.  For more information and to submit a nomination, please download the awards criteria, sample nomination letter and interactive nomination form.

The Jan. 18, 2009,  concert will take place a under the direction of Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.  Violinist Danielle Belen Nesmith, prize winner from the 2008 Sphinx Competition for Black and Latino string players, senior division, will make her Cleveland Orchestra debut as soloist in a performance of Ravel's Tzigane, for violin and orchestra. The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus and the Central State University Chorus, with conductor William Henry Caldwell, also will participate in the concert.

Admission to the concert is free, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Dec. 26, 2008, through the Severance Hall Ticket Office.  Patrons can stop by the ticket office Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., or Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., or call the ticket office at (216) 231-1111 or 1-800-686-1141. A limited number of tickets also will be available via the Cleveland Orchestra Web site. There is a limit of two tickets per person.

This concert is sponsored by Key Foundation with additional support from The Cleveland Foundation. The musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra donate their services for this concert as a benefit to the Musical Arts Association sustaining fund.

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