On Monday evening, June 6, THE INTERFAITH CENTER OF NEW YORK will continue its annual tradition of honoring individuals at The Center’s Ninth Annual JAMES PARKS MORTON INTERFAITH AWARDS DINNER. This year’s event will honor:
Internationally-acclaimed musician, composer and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis. As one of the world’s top trumpeters, Mr. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards for both jazz and classical records and works as a tireless advocate for advancing jazz as a sustainable art form. He continues to grow audiences for jazz through his co-founding and artistic directing at Jazz at Lincoln Center, his worldwide touring, and educating of young musicians.
The evening’s festivities will be hosted by Nancy Giles. As a contributor to the award-winning CBS News Sunday Morning, Ms. Giles voices her opinions on everything from politics and race to plus-sizes and Janet Jackson‘s famed wardrobe malfunction. She was also a part of the ensemble cast of the Emmy Award-winning drama series China Beach and the comedy series Delta. Mr. Marsalis and Ms. Giles paths have crossed before as she narrated Suite for Human Spirit, a specially commissioned jazz work composed and performed by Mr. Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for the Washington Performing Arts Society in 2004.
The Essentially Ellington Alumni All Stars, some of the brightest young jazz players in New York City and beneficiaries of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program, will entertain. Included are Willie Applewhite on trombone, Tatum Greenblatt on trumpet, Alan Hampton on bass, Reggie Quinerly on Drums and Carmen Staaf on piano.
Previous Interfaith Award recipients include former President Bill Clinton, James Carroll, Alan Slifka, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nina & Daniel Libeskind, Shirin Ebadi, Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee, Philippe Petit, Santiago & Robertina Calatrava, Richard Gere, Amma, Imam Feisal Rauf, Nicholas D. Kristof, Paul Winter, Carl Sagan, Steven C. Rockefeller, Rev. Kyotaro DeGuchi, Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Vartan Gregorian and Rabbi Awraham Soetendor among others.
The Interfaith Center of New York, founded in 1997, is a secular non-profit organization which works with over 1,000 grassroots and immigrant religious leaders from 16 different faith and ethnic traditions. ICNY brings together religious leaders, judges, social workers, teachers and other civic officials to address shared concerns including domestic violence, healthcare, affordable housing and financial security among worshippers. ICNY seeks to advance New York City as a nationally and internationally recognized model for mutual understanding and cooperation among faiths.
The James Parks Morton Interfaith Award is named for ICNY’s founder and Chair Emeritus, The Very Reverend James Parks Morton, who served as Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for 25 years and today remains as an active ICNY Board member. As a visionary Episcopal spiritual leader, he created a thriving creative community where cutting-edge cultural, ecological and social justice programs were incubated and successfully implemented.
