BlankOh wow, I never put the two together. Thanks for that note, Fred. I do
remember Commission employees attending the concert.
Vickie Rolison
From: Fred Wurtzel
Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2019 11:55 AM
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [msb-alumni] Re: Jessye Norman, international opera star, dies at 74
Hello,
I’m not sure if anyone remembers, but, her Brother James was the Director of
Labor, or whatever it was called at the time, and the Director over the
Commission for the Blind when Phil Peterson was Director. I never had the
chance to meet her, but a number of Commission employees attended at least 1
concert in Detroit, as I recall.
Thanks for sharing this.
Warmest Regards,
Fred
From: msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
On Behalf Of Steve
Sent: Tuesday, October 1, 2019 2:48 PM
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [msb-alumni] Jessye Norman, international opera star, dies at 74
Jessye Norman, international opera star, dies at 74.
NEW YORK -- Jessye Norman, the renowned international opera star whose
passionate soprano voice won her four Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts
and the Kennedy Center Honor, has died, according to family spokesperson
Gwendolyn Quinn. She was 74. A statement released to the Associated Press on
Monday said Norman died from septic shock and multi-organ failure secondary to
complications of a spinal cord injury she had sustained in 2015. She died at
Mount Sinai St. Lukes Hospital in New York, and was surrounded by loved ones.
We are so proud of Jessyes musical achievements and the inspiration that she
provided to audiences around the world that will continue to be a source of
joy. We are equally proud of her humanitarian endeavors addressing matters such
as hunger, homelessness, youth development, and arts and culture education, the
family statement read. Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming
days. Norman was a trailblazing performer, and one of the rare black singers to
attain worldwide stardom in the opera world, performing at such revered houses
like La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera, and singing title roles in works like
Carmen, Aida and more. She sang the works of Wagner, but was not limited to
opera or classical music, performing songs by Duke Ellington and others as
well. Norman was born on September 15, 1945 in Augusta, Georgia, in
segregationist times. She grew up singing in church and around a musical family
that included pianists and singers. She earned a scholarship to the
historically black college Howard University in Washington, D.C., to study
music, and later studied at the Peabody Conservatory and the University of
Michigan. Eventually she made her operatic debut in 1969 in Berlin, wowing
audiences around the world on stages in Milan, London and New York thanks to
her shining vocals, no matter the language. The New York Times described her
voice as a grand mansion of sound. It defines an extraordinary space. It has
enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected
vistas. It contains sunlit rooms, narrow passageways, cavernous falls, the
Times Edward Rothstein wrote. In 1997, at age 52, Norman became the youngest
person ever to earn the Kennedy Center Honor in the organizations 20-year
history at the time. She received her National Medal of Arts from former
President Barack Obama and has earned honorary doctorates from a number of
prestigious schools, including Juilliard, Harvard and Yale. She is a member of
British Royal Academy of Music and Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Norman even has
orchid named after her in France, and the country also made her a Commander of
the Order of Arts and Letters. Shes earned 15 Grammy nominations throughout her
illustrious career, picking up her first at the 1985 show for best classical
vocal soloist performance for Ravel: Songs Of Maurice Ravel. She earned Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.