Novemer 8, 2021
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Media Contact:
Robin Elrod, Director of PR and Communications
elrod@trustarts.org | 412-471-8716
Kurt Elling Concert and JazzLive Legacy Award Presentation Photos:
https://photos.trustarts.org/pages/search.php?search=%21collection908&k=bc704a7215
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces
Dr. Harry Clark Honored with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 2021 JazzLive Legacy Award at the Trust’s BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive Series’ Sold-Out Kurt Elling Concert
Popular jazz series returned to the Greer Cabaret Theater with a full house for the first indoor concert since the COVID-19 pandemic
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to announce the recipient of its 2021 JazzLive Legacy Award is Dr. Harry Clark, a distinguished school administrator of 30 years for Pittsburgh Public Schools and supporter of arts programs in schools. The award was established by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in 2018 to acknowledge a regional jazz artist for their incredible contribution to this music genre in Pittsburgh and beyond.
The 2021 JazzLive Legacy Award honoring Dr. Clark for his many years as an of outstanding contributions to jazz in Pittsburgh jazz artist took place on Tuesday, October 26, at the Greer Cabaret Theater during the Kurt Elling concert. Mr. Elling’s concert marked the first indoor performance of the Trust’s BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive series since February of 2020.
Dr. Harry Clark retired from Pittsburgh Public Schools after 30 years of service, including serving as the founding principal of Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School (CAPA) – the first public arts high school in Western Pennsylvania. Through this work, he influenced hundreds of musicians who now have their own careers and contribute to Pittsburgh’s reputation as a city where jazz thrives. Dr. Clark has consulted for schools across the country to help initiate new arts programs, as well as for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, U.S. Department of Education’s Special Projects Committee, and American Council for the Arts. Locally, he serves on the boards of directors at Bridgeway Capital and Kente Arts Alliance, advises the African American Jazz Preservation Society of Pittsburgh, and has been a member of the University of Pittsburgh’s Jazz Seminar Committee for more than 30 years.
“We couldn’t be more excited to honor Dr. Clark with the JazzLive Legacy Award this year,” says Terri Bell, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “The event on October 26th was particularly joyful as we returned to in-person JazzLive concerts and recognized Dr. Clark’s contributions to our thriving jazz scene. Dr. Clark embodies everything this award was created to recognize – he came out of our city’s jazz tradition and continues to contribute to and build that legacy. Pittsburgh jazz would not be the same without him and we thank him for teaching, guiding, and inspiring us all!”
Previous JazzLive Legacy Award honorees include Mr. Roger Humphries (2018) and Mr. Joe Negri (2019).
For information and a schedule of upcoming BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive events, please visit TrustArts.org/JazzLive or call 412-456-6666.
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ABOUT BNY MELLON PRESENTS JAZZLIVE
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s BNY Mellon Presents JazzLive series has enabled the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to showcase hundreds of regional performers in the heart of the Cultural District since 2004. JazzLive is a year-round free live jazz series taking place at the Backstage Bar at Theater Square and Katz Plaza. Open to the public, this popular Pittsburgh Cultural Trust music series showcases some of the region’s finest jazz musicians every Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 87:00 p.m. in the heart of the Cultural District. Bob Studebaker has been the resident MC since the series’ inception. Bob is a native of Pittsburgh and began playing jazz on the radio in the late ‘70s. A few of Bob’s career highlights that have supported the music scene include multiple Golden Quill Awards from the Western Pennsylvania Press Club, lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, and host of JazzWorks a nationally distributed music service heard on stations across the nation. Vimeo | #JazzLivePGH
ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.
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