1.
Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
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Barataria is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It is east of Port of Spain and Laventille and west of San Juan and it is part of the East-West Corridor. Barataria is the name of the fictional island awarded to Sancho Panza, to govern, Barataria falls under the San Juan-Laventille Regional Corporation. It is a quiet residential area, home to retired and middle classes with streets running north-south and east-west with corresponding names. There is the usual mix of churches, shops, bars. It is not far from the highways into Port of Spain direct or via the scenic Lady Young Road. Busy shopping areas are within walking distance, the busy bus route running parallel with the eastbound highway runs next to fifth street in Barataria and the Eastern Main Road runs between second and third streets. The bus route was built to provide access to and from Piarco International Airport in case of a national emergency
2.
Trinidad
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Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, though geographically part of the South American continent, from a socio-economic standpoint it is often referred to as the southernmost island in the Caribbean. With an area of 4,768 km2, it is also the sixth largest in the West Indies, many believe the original name for the island in the Arawaks language was Iëre which meant Land of the Hummingbird. Some believe that Iere was actually a mispronunciation or corruption by early colonists of the Arawak word Kairi which simply means Island, Christopher Columbus renamed it La Isla de la Trinidad, fulfilling a vow he had made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration. Caribs and Arawaks lived in Trinidad long before Christopher Columbus encountered the islands on his voyage in 1498. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands, Trinidad remained Spanish until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists from the French Caribbean, especially Martinique. In 1889 the two became a single British Crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained self-governance in 1958 and independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, major landforms include the hills of the Northern, Central and Southern Ranges, the Caroni, Nariva and Oropouche Swamps, and the Caroni and Naparima Plains. Major river systems include the Caroni, North and South Oropouche, there are many other natural landforms such as beaches and waterfalls. Trinidad has two seasons per year, the rainy season and the dry season. El Cerro del Aripo, at 940 metres, is the highest point in Trinidad and it is part of the Aripo Massif and is located in the Northern Range on the island, northeast of the town of Arima. Diversity is the status quo in Trinidad and it is sometimes known as a rainbow island or more fondly a callaloo. There is a range of ethnicity, religion, and culture. As of the 2011 Trinidad and Tobago Census, the population was 34. 22% East Indian,35. 43% African,7. 66% Mixed - African and East Indian, and 15. 16% Mixed - Other. Venezuela has also had a impact on Trinidads culture, such as introducing the music style parang to the island. Many of these groups overlap heavily due to admixture, for example Dougla is a term used to describe a person who is of African and East Indian descent. Trinidad religion primarily centers round Roman Catholic, Anglican, other Christian denominations, Hindu, catholicism constitutes the largest religious denomination of the country. There are also multiple festivals featuring the music of the Caribbean and the steelpan and these festivals include the world-famous Carnival, Jouvert, and Panorama, the national steel pan competition
3.
Contemporary R&B
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Contemporary R&B, also known as simply R&B, is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance. The genre features a record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel. Electronic influences are becoming a trend and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness. Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularized by such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Craig David, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston. That same year, Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included hip hop influences and this combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed new jack swing and was applied to artists such as Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Al B. Guy, Jodeci and Bell Biv DeVoe, the style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence. In 1990 Mariah Carey released Vision of Love as her debut single and it was immensely popular peaking at number 1 in many worldwide charts including the Billboard Hot 100, and it propelled Mariahs carrier. The song is said to have popularized the use of melisma. During the mid-1990s, Whitney Houstons The Bodyguard, Original Soundtrack Album sold over 40 million copies becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Janet Jacksons self-titled fifth studio album janet. which came after her historic multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records, sold over twenty million copies worldwide. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits, including One Sweet Day, Carey also released a remix of her 1995 single Fantasy, with Ol Dirty Bastard as a feature, a collaboration format that was unheard of at this point. Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995—Daydream, II and CrazySexyCool. In the late 1990s, neo soul, which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by such as DAngelo, Erykah Badu. Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles, beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient. The award was received by TLC for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich for Words in 1997, Erykah Badu for Baduizm in 1998. At the end of 1999, Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first, simultaneously, in the second half of the 1990s, The Neptunes and Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporary R&B and hip hop music. R&B acts such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher, in 2001, Alicia Keys released Fallin as her debut single. It peaking at one on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Top 40
4.
Soul music
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Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music, catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and a tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds, Soul music reflected the African-American identity and it stressed the importance of an African-American culture. The new-found African-American consciousness led to new styles of music, which boasted pride in being black, Soul music dominated the U. S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U. S. By 1968, the music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists developed funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, by the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres, leading to psychedelic soul. The United States saw the development of neo soul around 1994, there are also several other subgenres and offshoots of soul music. The term soul had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States, according to another source, Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the 60s. The phrase soul music itself, referring to music with secular lyrics, is first attested in 1961. The term soul in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride, gospel groups in the 1940s and 1950s occasionally used the term as part of their name. The jazz style that derived from gospel came to be called soul jazz, important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James. Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the genre with his string of hits starting with 1954s I Got a Woman. Singer Bobby Womack said, Ray was the genius and he turned the world onto soul music. Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style, little Richard and James Brown were equally influential. Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson are also acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the singer of gospel group The Soul Stirrers
5.
Contemporary Christian music
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Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. Today, the term is used to refer to pop, rock. Top-selling CCM artists will also appear on the Billboard 200, in the iTunes Store, the genre is represented as part of the Christian and gospel genre. The growing popularity in the styles of Rock n Roll music in the 1950s was initially dismissed by the church because it was believed to encourage sinfulness. Yet as evangelical churches adapted to appeal to people, the musical styles used in worship changed as well by adopting the sounds of this popular style. The genre became known as contemporary Christian music as a result of the Jesus movement revival in the latter 1960s and early 1970s, about that time, many young people from the sixties counterculture professed to believe in Jesus. Convinced of the bareness of a lifestyle based on drugs, free sex, however, there were people who felt that Jesus was another trip. It was during the 1970s Jesus movement that Christian music started to become an industry within itself, Jesus Music started by playing instruments and singing songs about love and peace, which then translated into love of God. Paul Wohlegemuth, who wrote the book Rethinking Church Music, said 1970s will see a marked acceptance of rock-influenced music in all levels of church music. The rock style will become familiar to all people, its rhythmic excesses will become refined. Larry Norman is often remembered as the father of Christian rock and he is remembered as the artist who first combined rock n roll with Christian lyrics in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Unlike traditional or southern gospel music, this new Jesus music was birthed out of rock, pioneers of this movement also included Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, Andraé Crouch and the Disciples, Evie, Benny Hester, and The Imperials, among others. The small Jesus music culture had expanded into an industry by the 1980s. Many CCM artists such as Benny Hester, Amy Grant, DC Talk, Michael W. Smith, Stryper, the genre emerged and became prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s. Beginning in July 1978, CCM Magazine began covering Contemporary Christian Music artists and it has certain themes and messages behind the songs and their lyrics including Praise and worship, faith, encouragement, and prayer. These songs also focus on themes of devotion, inspiration, redemption, reconciliation, many people listen to contemporary Christian music for comfort through tough times. The lyrics and messages conveyed in CCM songs are aimed to evangelize, one of the earliest goals of CCM was to spread the news of Jesus to non-Christians. In addition, contemporary Christian music also strengthens the faith of believers, Contemporary Christian music has influences from folk, gospel, pop and rock music
6.
Gospel music
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Gospel music is a music genre in Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music varies according to culture. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were repeated in a call and response fashion, most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella, the first published use of the term Gospel Song probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate. Gospel blues is a form of gospel music. Southern gospel used all male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet make-up, progressive Southern gospel is an American music genre that has grown out of Southern gospel over the past couple of decades. Christian country music, sometimes referred to as gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. It peaked in popularity in the mid-1990s, bluegrass gospel music is rooted in American mountain music. Celtic gospel music infuses gospel music with a Celtic flair, and is popular in countries such as Ireland. British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora, some proponents of standard hymns generally dislike gospel music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, with distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals referencing lyrics of a Christian nature, subgenres include contemporary gospel, urban contemporary gospel, Southern gospel, and modern gospel music. Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and, increasingly, electric guitar. In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, several attempts have been made to describe the style of late 19th and early 20th century gospel songs in general
7.
RCA Records
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RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. It is one of SMEs three flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, blues, jazz, the companys name is derived from the initials of the labels former parent company, the Radio Corporation of America. It is the second oldest recording company in US history, after sister label Columbia Records, RCAs Canadian unit is Sonys oldest label in Canada. It was one of only two Canadian record companies to survive the Great Depression, kelly, Enrique Iglesias, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Kesha, Miley Cyrus, Giorgio Moroder, Jennifer Hudson, DAngelo, Pink, Tinashe, G-Eazy, Pitbull, Zayn and Wizkid. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the worlds largest manufacturer of phonographs and phonograph records. The company then became RCA Victor but retained use of the Victor Records name on their labels until the beginning of 1946 when the labels were finally switched over to RCA Victor. With Victor, RCA acquired New World rights to the famous Nipper His Masters Voice trademark, in Shanghai, China, in 1931, RCA Victors British affiliate the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI. This gave RCA head David Sarnoff a seat on the EMI board, in September 1931, RCA Victor introduced the first 33⅓ rpm records sold to the public, calling them Program Transcriptions. In the depths of the Great Depression, the format was a commercial failure, during the early part of the depression, RCA made a number of attempts to produce a successful cheap label to compete with the dime store labels. The first was the short-lived Timely Tunes label in 1931 sold at Montgomery Ward, in 1932, Bluebird Records was created as a sub-label of RCA Victor. It was originally an 8-inch record with a blue label. In 1933, RCA reintroduced Bluebird and Electradisk as a standard 10-inch label, another cheap label, Sunrise, was produced. The same musical couplings were issued on all three labels and Bluebird Records still survives eight decades after Electradisk and Sunrise were discontinued, RCA also produced records for Montgomery Ward label during the 1930s. Besides manufacturing records for themselves, RCA Victor operated RCA Custom which was the leading record manufacturer for independent record labels, RCA Custom also pressed record compilations for The Readers Digest Association. RCA sold its interest in EMI in 1935, but EMI continued to distribute RCA recordings in the UK, RCA also manufactured and distributed HMV classical recordings on the RCA and HMV labels in North America. During World War II, ties between RCA and its Japanese affiliate JVC were severed, the Japanese record company is today called Victor Entertainment and is still a JVC subsidiary. From 1942 to 1944, RCA Victor was seriously impacted by the American Federation of Musicians recording ban, virtually all union musicians could not make recordings during that period
8.
Capitol Christian Music Group
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Capitol Christian Music Group is an American music group that, since 2013, is under the ownership of Universal Music Group. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee, Capitol CMG is the leader in the Christian Gospel music industry. Capitol CMG is a company whose assets include such labels as Sparrow and ForeFront Records as well as the distribution company. Capitol CMG features artists such as Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, CeCe Winans, the music group was founded by Billy Ray Hearn in February 1976 as Sparrow Records. Sparrow was acquired by EMI in 1992, formerly known as EMI Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG is a division of Capitol Music Group, which is now a Universal Music Group company. The companys roster features top names in the Christian and gospel communities, among them Amy Grant, Jeremy Camp, Michael W
9.
Mervyn Warren
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Mervyn Edwin Warren is an American film composer, record producer, music conductor, music arranger, lyricist, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist. Warren is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a 10-time Grammy Award nominee, Warrens mother taught him to read and to do basic math when he was three years old, which enabled him later to complete the first and second grades in one year. Upon beginning the third grade, Warrens classmates, thinking he had skipped a grade. During that time, he immersed himself in playing the piano, Warren briefly took formal, piano lessons at the ages of six and 10. In each case, he soon lost interest in the memorization and regurgitation of the required pieces. As a result, each stint of weekly, formal lessons was short-lived, still, he spent hours at the piano daily, playing by ear. As a child and teenager, Warren, whose parents are Seventh-day Adventists, was not allowed to listen to pop music or rhythm and blues. Instead, he grew up on a diet of easy-listening, contemporary Christian, classical. Warrens familys home was adjacent to the campus of Oakwood University, throughout his childhood and adolescence, Warren heard such ensembles rehearse and perform frequently. Each of these elements would later combine to inform his unique musical palette, in 1976, at the age of 12, Warren was grounded for having purchased the Earth, Wind & Fire album Gratitude. But in 2006—exactly 30 years later—he was asked to produce an Earth, although the project was postponed, the irony remains. At the age of 15, Warren enrolled in a special, summer program at Alabama A&M University for high-school students with advanced proficiency in the sciences and mathematics. As a result of his performance in the program, the university offered him a scholarship that would cover all studies required to earn a Ph. D. in physics, however, lacking sufficient interest in the subject, Warren declined the offer. In 1981 he was the valedictorian of his class at Oakwood Adventist Academy. In the fall of the year, he became president of the freshman class at Oakwood University. Intending to attend school, Warren majored briefly in biology. Though he excelled at both, he dropped both, having decided to pursue his passion, music. Disappointed by Warrens decision, a professor of biology told him, undeterred, Warren graduated summa cum laude in 1985 from Oakwood University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music with an emphasis in piano performance
10.
Brooklyn Tabernacle
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Brooklyn Tabernacle is a non-denominational church located at 17 Smith Street at the Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn, New York City. Brooklyn Tabernacle has 16,000 members and is one of the biggest churches in the Greater New York metropolitan area, Jim Cymbala has been the pastor of the church for over 40 years. The church is noted for its sermons, guests and its six time Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, which is directed by Carol Cymbala, the wife of the main Pastor, Jim Cymbala. The Brooklyn Tabernacle was established in 1847 as the Central Presbyterian Church, using the facilities of the First Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Willoughby Street and their first building was a frame tabernacle on the corner of State and Nevins Streets, beginning April 3,1853. The first tabernacle was destroyed by fire in 1869, the second Brooklyn Tabernacle was built in 1873 at the corner of Marcy and Jefferson. This tabernacle was destroyed during a thunderstorm in 1889, the third tabernacle, built at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Greene Street seated 6,000 persons and was destroyed by fire in 1894, but was then rebuilt at the same location. By the time Pastor Jim and Carol Cymbala took over the leadership in the autumn of 1971, in the 1980s, the Brooklyn Tabernacle purchased the former Carlton Theatre at 292 Flatbush Avenue at 7th Avenue, converting the 1383-seat theatre into a church. After many years of decline, the church was revitalized as a non-denominational congregation, the church remained in this location until 2002 when they purchased and renovated the former Loews Metropolitan Theatre at 17 Smith Street. Two adjacent buildings were converted into offices, classrooms, community service areas, the church holds three two-hour services weekly. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sang The Battle Hymn of the Republic at the 2013 second inauguration of Barack Obama
11.
Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans
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Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans are Americans of total or partial Trinidadian and Tobagonian ancestry or immigrants born in Trinidad and Tobago. The largest proportion of Trinidadians live in New York City and in places such as Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, New Jersey. The immigrants worked as free people until 1629 when a Portuguese vessel arrived with the first shipload of blacks captured off the west coast of Africa. In the 1640s Virginia and other states began instituting laws that took away the freedom of blacks and redefined them as chattel, Trinidad, like many other islands in the British West Indies, served as a clearinghouse for slaves en route to North America. From 1966 to 1970,23,367 Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants, primarily from the elite and rural poor classes. From 1971 to 1975, the figure climbed to 33,278 and it dropped to 28,498 from 1976 to 1980, and only half that amount between 1981 and 1984, when the Reagan administration began placing greater restrictions on U. S. immigration policy. Less than 2,300 Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants arrived in 1984, the majority of those immigrants came to the United States because Britain had restricted immigration from the Commonwealth islands to the British Isles. A larger number migrated in the late 1980s when oil prices fell, Trinidadians and Tobagonians are now the second largest group of English-speaking West Indian immigrants in the United States. Lakshmi Singh - NPR newscaster Larry Felix - Director, U. S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing Anya Ayoung-Chee - Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe 2008, frederick - physician, President of Howard University Roger Toussaint - trade unionist
12.
Tony Award
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The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at a ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre, several discretionary non-competitive awards are also given, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards are named after Antoinette Tony Perry, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, the rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the official document Rules and Regulations of The American Theatre Wings Tony Awards, which applies for that season only. It also forms the fourth spoke in the EGOT, that is someone who has won all four awards, the Tony Awards are also considered the equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Award in the United Kingdom and the Molière Award of France. From 1997 to 2010, the Tony Awards ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in June and broadcast live on CBS television, except in 1999, in 2011 and 2012, the ceremony was held at the Beacon Theatre. From 2013 to 2015, the 67th, 68th, and 69th ceremonies returned to Radio City Music Hall, the 70th Tony Awards were held on June 12,2016 at the Beacon Theatre. The 71st Tony Awards will be held on June 11,2017, as of 2014, there are 24 categories of awards, plus several special awards. Starting with 11 awards in 1947, the names and number of categories have changed over the years, some examples, the category Best Book of a Musical was originally called Best Author. The category of Best Costume Design was one of the original awards, for two years, in 1960 and 1961, this category was split into Best Costume Designer and Best Costume Designer. It then went to a category, but in 2005 it was divided again. For the category of Best Director of a Play, a category was for directors of plays. A newly established non-competitive award, The Isabelle Stevenson Award, was given for the first time at the ceremony in 2009. The award is for an individual who has made a contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian. The category of Best Special Theatrical Event was retired as of the 2009–2010 season, the categories of Best Sound Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Musical were retired as of the 2014-2015 season. Performance categories Show and technical categories Special awards Retired awards The award was founded in 1947 by a committee of the American Theatre Wing headed by Brock Pemberton. The award is named after Antoinette Perry, nicknamed Tony, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, who died in 1946. As her official biography at the Tony Awards website states, At Jacob Wilks suggestion, proposed an award in her honor for distinguished stage acting, at the initial event in 1947, as he handed out an award, he called it a Tony
13.
Grammy Award
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A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an honor awarded by The Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards, the Tony Awards. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4,1959, to honor, following the 2011 ceremony, The Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 59th Grammy Awards, honoring the best achievements from October 2015 to September 2016, was held on February 12,2017, the Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating a given by their industry similar to the Oscars. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts, after it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it, one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, the number of awards given grew and fluctuated over the years with categories added and removed, at one time reaching over 100. The second Grammy Awards, also held in 1959, was the first ceremony to be televised, the gold-plated trophies, each depicting a gilded gramophone, are made and assembled by hand by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. In 1990 the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, Billings developed a zinc alloy named grammium, which is trademarked. The trophies with the name engraved on them are not available until after the award announcements. By February 2009,7,578 Grammy trophies had been awarded, the General Field are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a full album if other than the performer. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a single song if other than the performer. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/composer of a single song, Best New Artist is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the other three in 2012 and 2017. Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other such as artwork. Special awards are given for longer-lasting contributions to the music industry, the many other Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony earlier in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast
14.
Drama Desk Award
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Broadway productions were excluded until the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theatre distinction and they debuted the presentations of the Vernon Rice Awards. The name honors the New York Post critic Vernon Rice, who had pioneered Off-Broadway coverage in the New York press, the name was changed for the 1963–1964 awards season to the Drama Desk Awards. In 1974, the Drama Desk became incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, in 1975, the Drama announcement of winners included the nominees as well. The Drama Desk has more than 100 members, including critics, reporters and editors who cover New York theater. Membership consists of two categories, Active membership and Participating Membership, all of the Drama Desk officers and Nominating Committee members perform their various services for the organization on a voluntary basis. The Nominating Committee generally meets twice a month to discuss the many eligible shows members are responsible for seeing and they then nominate the productions on which the entire membership will vote. What sets the organization apart is that the awards are voted on by people only without any vested interests in the results. Previous winners include Bernadette Peters, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, over the last 36 years, the Drama Desk Awards have contributed to the ongoing success of major stars, playwrights and designers, while also identifying newcomers. The Drama Desk was the first New York theater organization to give awards to talents such as Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, plays like Driving Miss Daisy, Other Peoples Money, Steel Magnolias, and The Boys in the Band built momentum with the help of Drama Desk wins. In 2010 William Wolf was announced as the President of Drama Desk, the current managing executive producer of the Drama Desk Awards is Gretchen Shugart, and the president of the Drama Desk is Charles Wright. David Barbour is chairperson of the nominating committee, in keeping with its original mission, the organization sponsors guest panel luncheons with theater professionals. Panels address topics of current interest, covering the season on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway, with the aim of prompting informative and stimulating discussion
15.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
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Fort Wayne is a city in the U. S. state of Indiana and the seat of Allen County. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles west of the Ohio border and 50 miles south of the Michigan border. With an estimated population of 260,326 in 2015, Fort Wayne is the 77th most populous city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana, after Indianapolis. It is the city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen, Wells, and Whitley counties. In addition to the three counties, the combined statistical area includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble. Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne last in a series of forts near the Miami tribe village of Kekionga in 1794. Named in Waynes honor, the European-American settlement developed at the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Marys, the village was platted in 1823 and underwent tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. The city is a center for the industry which employs thousands. Fort Wayne was an All-America City Award recipient in 1982,1998, the city also received an Outstanding Achievement City Livability Award by the U. S. This area at the confluence of rivers was long occupied by cultures of indigenous peoples. The Miami tribe established its settlement of Kekionga at the confluence of the Maumee, St. Joseph and it was the capital of the Miami nation and related Algonquian tribes. In 1696, Comte de Frontenac appointed Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes as commander of the outpost, the French built Fort Miami in 1697 as part of a group of forts and trading posts built between Quebec and St. Louis. In 1721, a few years after Bissots death, Fort Miami was replaced by Fort St. Philippe des Miamis, the first census in 1744 recorded a population of approximately 40 Frenchmen and 1,000 Miami. Increasing tension between France and the United Kingdom developed over the territory, in 1760, the area was ceded to the British Empire after French forces surrendered during the French and Indian War. In 1763, various Native American nations rebelled against British rule, the Miami regained control of Kekionga, a rule that lasted for more than 30 years. In 1790, George Washington ordered the United States Army to secure Indiana Territory, Three battles were fought at Kekionga against Little Turtle and the Miami Confederacy. Miami warriors defeated U. S. forces in the first two battles, Anthony Wayne led a third expedition resulting in the destruction of Kekionga and the start of peace negotiations between Little Turtle and the U. S. After General Wayne refused to negotiate, the tribe advanced to Fallen Timbers where they were defeated on August 20,1794
16.
Funny Girl (musical)
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Funny Girl is a 1963 musical with a book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The semi-biographical plot is based on the life and career of Broadway star, film actress and comedian Fanny Brice featuring her stormy relationship with entrepreneur and its original title was My Man. The musical was produced by Ray Stark, who was Brices son-in-law via his marriage to her daughter Frances, the production was nominated for eight Tony Awards but, facing tough competition from Hello, Dolly. It failed to win in any categories, the original cast recording of Funny Girl was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. The musical is set in and around New York City just prior to, Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice, awaiting the return of her husband, Nicky Arnstein, from prison, reflects on their life together, and their story is told as a flashback. Fanny is a teen who gets her first job in vaudeville. Her mother and her friend Mrs. Strakosh try to dissuade her from business because Fanny is not the typical beauty. But Fanny perseveres and is helped and encouraged by Eddie Ryan, once Fannys career takes off, Eddie and Mrs. Brice lament that once shes on Broadway shell forget about them. Fanny performs a supposedly romantic number in the Follies, but she turns it into a comic routine. She meets the sophisticated and handsome Nick Arnstein, who accompanies Fanny to her mothers opening night party on Henry Street, Fanny is clearly falling in love with Nick, while acknowledging their complex vulnerabilities. Later they meet in Baltimore and have a dinner at a swanky restaurant. Fanny is determined to marry Nick, regardless of his gambling past and they do marry and move to a mansion on Long Island. In the meantime, Mrs. Strakosh and Eddie propose to Mrs. Brice that she should find a man to marry, Fanny has become a major star with the Ziegfeld Follies. Nick asks Ziegfeld to invest in a casino, but although Ziegfeld passes. When the venture fails and they lose their money, Fanny tries to light of it. Fanny feels helpless but stronger than ever in her love for him, in the present, Fanny is waiting for Nick to arrive and has time to reflect on her situation. Nick arrives, newly released from prison, and he and Fanny decide to separate and she is heartbroken, but resolves to pick up her life again. Ray Stark had commissioned a biography of Brice, based on taped recollections she had dictated
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Northwestern University
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Composed of twelve schools and colleges, Northwestern offers 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees. Northwestern was founded in 1851 by John Evans, for whom the City of Evanston is named and its founding purpose was to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that today includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Instruction began in 1855, women were admitted in 1869, today, the main campus is a 240-acre parcel in Evanston, along the shores of Lake Michigan 12 miles north of downtown Chicago. The universitys law, medical, and professional schools are located on a 25-acre campus in Chicagos Streeterville neighborhood, in 2008, the university opened a campus in Education City, Doha, Qatar with programs in journalism and communication. In 2016, Northwestern opened its San Francisco space at 44 Montgomery St. which hosts journalism, engineering, Northwestern is a large research university with a comprehensive doctoral program and it attracts over $650 million in sponsored research each year. Northwestern has the tenth largest university endowment in the United States, in 2017, the university accepted 9. 0% of undergraduate applicants from a pool of 37,255. Northwestern is a member of the Big Ten Conference and remains the only private university in the conference. The Northwestern Wildcats compete in 19 intercollegiate sports in the NCAAs Division I Big Ten Conference, on January 28,1851, the Illinois General Assembly granted a charter to the Trustees of the North-Western University, making it the first chartered university in Illinois. The schools nine founders, all of whom were Methodists, knelt in prayer, John Evans, for whom Evanston is named, bought 379 acres of land along Lake Michigan in 1853, and Philo Judson developed plans for what would become the city of Evanston, Illinois. The first building, Old College, opened on November 5,1855, to raise funds for its construction, Northwestern sold $100 perpetual scholarships entitling the purchaser and his heirs to free tuition. Willard Residential College is named in her honor, Northwestern admitted its first women students in 1869, and the first woman was graduated in 1874. Northwestern fielded its first intercollegiate football team in 1882, later becoming a member of the Big Ten Conference. In the 1870s and 1880s, Northwestern affiliated itself with already existing schools of law, medicine, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the oldest law school in Chicago. The Association of American Universities invited Northwestern to become a member in 1917, in 1933, a proposal to merge Northwestern with the University of Chicago was considered but rejected. Northwestern was also one of the first six universities in the country to establish a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps in the 1920s, after the golden years of the 1920s, the Great Depression in the United States hit Northwestern hard. Its annual income dropped 25 percent from $4.8 million in 1930-31 to $3.6 million in 1933-34. Investment income shrank, fewer parents could pay full tuition, and annual giving from alumni, the university responded with two salary cuts of 10 percent each for all employees. It imposed a freeze, a building freeze, and slashed appropriations for maintenance, books
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Ragtime (musical)
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Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty. The music includes marches, cakewalks, gospel and ragtime, based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in the United States in the early 20th century, African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr. The US Premier was in Los Angeles in 1997 and ran one year before opening on Broadway on January 18,1998 as the first production in the newly opened Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by Frank Galati and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, Ragtime ran for two years, closing on January 16,2000, after 834 performances and 27 previews. The original cast included Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman and Audra McDonald, who were all nominated for Tony Awards, the production was conducted by David Loud. The production received mixed reviews, many noting that the dazzling physical production overshadowed problems in the script. Ben Brantleys review in the New York Times was headlined A diorama with nostalgia rampant and it led the 1998 Tony Awards with thirteen Tony Award nominations, but Disneys The Lion King won as Best Musical. The musical won awards for Best Featured Actress, Original Score, Book, according to The New York Times, The chief competition for The Lion King was Ragtime, a lavish musical. The Broadway production was not financially successful, and some Broadway insiders consider its lavish production to have been the undoing of Livent. This production starred Maria Friedman in the role of Mother, for which she won the 2004 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. A new production opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, on April 18,2009, and ran through May 17,2009, with direction and choreography by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The production then moved to Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre, with beginning on October 23,2009. The cast featured Stephanie Umoh, Quentin Earl Darrington, Christiane Noll, Robert Petkoff, Bobby Steggert, Donna Migliaccio and this was the first Broadway revival of the musical and the first Broadway revival of any 1990s musical. The production opened to acclaim but closed on January 10,2010 after 28 previews and 65 performances. This production had a large cast and orchestra, resulting in a significant weekly running cost that demanded the show be a success in order to prove financially worthwhile. There had been rumors in recent weeks that the show would not be able to survive into early 2010, there was apparently not enough of an advance sale to encourage the producers. Despite the closing, the production received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of Musical, Best Direction, Best Actress in Musical, One nomination, for Costume Design, was withdrawn on the basis that the designs were substantially similar to those of a prior production. The Regents Park Open Air Theatre played a revival of the musical from May 18 to September 8,2012 and this production was directed by Artistic Director Timothy Sheader
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New York Jets
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The New York Jets are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, in a unique arrangement for the league, the Jets share MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with the New York Giants. The franchise is legally and corporately registered as New York Jets, the team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League, later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began to play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds, under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in 1964 and then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984. Since 1968, the Jets have appeared in the playoffs 13 times, however, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of three NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams training facility, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, which opened in 2008, is located in Florham Park, the first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14,1959. Wismer was granted the franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained. He secured the Titans home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, by 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until seasons end. A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play in Shea Stadium near LaGuardia Airport. The new name was intended to reflect the approach of his team. The Jets owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the manager and head coach. The early 1990s saw New York struggling, after firing coach Bruce Coslet, owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season. Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory, Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach. Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997, Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, the franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000. Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the five times. Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009, Ryan led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship appearances during his first two years but the team never made the playoffs again during his tenure
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Nala (Disney)
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Nala is a fictional lioness, a character who appears in the Disney Lion King franchise. Introduced in the animated film The Lion King in 1994, Nala subsequently appears as a prominent character in the films sequels The Lion King II, Simbas Pride. In the original film, the adult Nala was voiced by American actress Moira Kelly, young Nalas speaking voice is provided by actress Niketa Calame, while singers Laura Williams and Sally Dworsky provide the singing voices of young and adult Nala respectively. Nala is introduced as the childhood best friend of Simba, several years after Simbas uncle Scar has killed Simbas father Mufasa and usurped the throne, Nala desperately ventures into the jungle to find help. Upon unexpectedly reuniting with a grown Simba, who she had long been tricked by Scar into presuming dead, Nala encourages him to return to Pride Rock, overthrow his uncle and ultimately become king. As Simbas queen, Nala has a daughter, Kiara, whose story is explored in The Lion King, Nala is the most significant female character in The Lion King. Many early concepts first developed for Nala were eventually abandoned, including a brother and father for the character, Nala appears in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film, first played by singer Heather Headley. The character also appears in the television series The Lion Guard, Film critic James Berardinelli identified Nala as The Lion Kings sole significant female character. Screenwriter Linda Woolverton conceived Nala as part of a gradual progression, which have driven recent public conversation about what young girls should be able to expect from their cinematic role models. In early versions of the screenplay, Nala has a brother named Mheetu. Pronounced me too, the name alludes to this personality trait. At one point, Simba was supposed to save the cub from a wildebeest stampede, Nala also had a fox friend named Bhati. At one point, Nala also had a father, the character was similarly abandoned, Matthew Roulette of TheFW believes that the scene was abandoned because of the characters significant age difference. The character has a mother, whose name is never mentioned in the film, however, Ella Ceron of Thought Catalog observed that At return, shes not exactly the friendliest little kitten, either. But is willing to overlook her own ego in the spirit of their friendship. She believes in Simba, and doesn’t understand why he want to fight for his right to rule. The speaking voice of adult Nala is provided by American actress Moira Kelly, Kelly was first informed that Disney was scheduling auditions for the role of Nala by her agent. Despite not having been the directors first choice for the role initially, Kelly was allowed to audition nonetheless because the filmmakers had been longing to hear different voices, Kelly believes that the directors were searching for a specific quality of voice
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The Lion King (musical)
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The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. On June 13,2006, the Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the version of Mary Poppins. It is Broadways third longest-running show in history and the highest grossing Broadway production of all time, the show debuted in the West Ends Lyceum Theatre on October 19,1999, and is still running. The cast of the West End production were invited to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in 1999 and 2008, as the sun rises, Rafiki the mandrill calls the animals to Pride Rock. She greets King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi before presenting their cub to the gathered animals, elsewhere, Mufasas brother, Scar, laments his lost chance at becoming king. Back at her baobab tree, Rafiki paints an image of the cub and asks the spirits to conjure the new princes name, time passes and Simba grows into a lively young cub. Mufasa shows Simba the Pride Lands from the top of Pride Rock, Mufasa warns Simba not to stray beyond the boundaries of the Pride Lands, pointing out a shadowy area in the distance. Zazu, a hornbill who acts as Mufasas advisor, arrives, Simba goes to see his uncle Scar. The scheming lion piques the cubs curiosity by mentioning the elephant graveyard, Simba arrives and asks his best friend, a female cub named Nala, to come with him to the elephant graveyard. He lies to the lionesses about where they are going, and Sarafina and Sarabi allow the cubs to go, Simba and Nala formulate a plan and manage to lose Zazu, while Simba brags about his future position. The cubs go to the graveyard and begin to explore, Zazu catches up, but they are confronted by three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. The hyenas intend to eat the trespassers and gloat about their find, Mufasa rescues the cubs and frightens off the hyenas. Mufasa is disappointed and angry at Simbas reckless disobedience, and explains the difference between bravery and bravado, Mufasa tells Simba about the great kings of the past and how they watch over everything from the stars. Mufasa says that he always be there for his son. Later he discusses Simbas behavior with Zazu, who reminds Mufasa that he had the tendency to get into trouble at Simbas age. Back at the elephant graveyard, Scar tells the hyenas of his plan to kill Mufasa and he raises an army of hyenas, promising that they will never go hungry again if they support him. Scar takes Simba to a gorge and tells him to wait there, on Scars signal, the hyenas start a wildebeest stampede into the gorge. Scar tells Mufasa that Simba is trapped in the gorge, Mufasa leaps into the stampede and manages to save his son, but as he tries to escape, Scar throws him off the cliff back into the stampede, killing him
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Aida (musical)
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Aida is a musical based on the opera of the same name by Giuseppe Verdi. It has music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, Aida premiered on Broadway on March 23,2000, running for 1,852 performances until September 5,2004. The Original Broadway Cast Recording won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. A song from the show, Written in the Stars, recorded by Elton John and LeAnn Rimes, reached No.2 in the Billboard US adult contemporary music charts, and No.1 in the Canadian contemporary charts. The show is based on Giuseppe Verdis Italian-language opera of the same name, the musical originated from a childrens storybook version of Verdis opera written by the soprano Leontyne Price. The book featured illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon, in 1994 the book rights were acquired by the Walt Disney Company for a proposed animated feature film. However, Elton John chose not to another animated project after The Lion King so Disney executives suggested a Broadway adaptation instead. Despite his opinion that people can be very elitist, John, along with Tim Rice. Act 1 In the Egyptian wing of a museum, a man. When his soldiers capture a group of Nubian women, he is captivated by one of the women, Aida, Radames forces her to wash his back, but she refuses, saying that although the Egyptians took everything from the Nubians, they will never take their spirit. Radames saves Aidas companions from the mines by sending them to the palace groundskeeper instead. He also ensures Aida serves as a handmaiden to his betrothed, Radames father, Chief Minister Zoser, greets his son with news that the Pharaoh is dying, and Radames must prepare to become the next ruler of Egypt. Unbeknownst to Radames, his father is poisoning the Pharaoh in order to accelerate Radames ascension to the throne, Radames Nubian servant, Mereb, is a young man who has learned the tricks of survival in Egypt. While delivering Aida to the princess, Mereb recognizes her as the daughter of the Nubian king under whom he had served during his days in Nubia and she commands him to keep her identity a secret, lest the Egyptians kill her. Presented to Amneris, Aida is liked immediately, and she perceives that the Princess love of fashion only serves as a mask of her insecurities. At a banquet, Amneris and Radames learn from the Pharaoh that they are to marry in seven days, together, he and Aida share their dreams and regrets. Later that night, Amneris worries about her fathers illness, and finds in Aida someone who understands, bursting into his fiancées chamber, Radames steals a moment with Aida to share his growing attraction to her. Aida is taken by Mereb to the Nubian camp, where she submits to her peoples pleas to lead them
