Alexandria Commission for the Arts
Announces Nominees for Alex Awards

The City of Alexandria's Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities' Commission for the Arts announces the slate of nominees for the 2005 Alex Awards. Seventeen persons and/or businesses were nominated by their peers in these Alex Awards categories: Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, Excellence in Service to the Arts, Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, and Innovative Partnerships Between Businesses and the Arts.

The 17 persons and/or businesses which were nominated, in alphabetical order, are :

Terrell LeVaugh Ambrose, Band Director, T.C. Williams High School
Mirella Monti Belshe', Sculptor, Artist, Torpedo Factory Art Center
Carolyn Griffin, Producing Director, MetroStage
Linda Hafer, Executive Director, The Art League
M. Joanna Henry, Drama Teacher, Bishop Ireton High School
Susan Landess, President, Alexandria Arts Forum
Maestro Kim Allen Kluge, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Marian Van Landingham, Founding Member - Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Art League
Marlin Lord, Co-Founder, Del Ray Artisans
James K. McCully, Opera Director, Music Director, Composer, Educator
Nora Partlow, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub
Sharon B. Paton, Art Teacher, Lyles Crouch Traditional Academy
Jane Lee Ring, SOLA Member, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Janet Kazuko Stormes, Choreographers Collaboration Project
Guy Thrift, Thrift Minuteman Press
Laura Wollman, Arts Education Teacher, Alexandria City Public Schools
Sandra E. Wheeler, Alexandria Singers Member

The Alex Awards is an annual program geared to stimulate interest in the arts and the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. The program is designed to challenge colleagues in the artistic, business, community and education sectors, throughout the year, to take an active part in helping to inspire the development of a creative environment for the Alexandria community.

Leon E. Scioscia, Chair of the Alexandria Commission for the Arts, said: “I am ecstatic with the diversity this array of nominees represent for our first full scale Alex Awards presentation. Community members have responded from their heart by nominating individuals and businesses that have made a difference to the cultural fabric of Alexandria, in ways that affect the daily lives our of citizens. And that is what the Alex Awards is all about – saluting those Alexandrians and their significant contributions to the arts.”

The 2005 Alex Awards will be held on Friday, May 20, 7 pm at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center located at 3001 Beauregard St. in Alexandria. Ticket prices range from $10 - $75. For ticket information, call 703.838.6348. For additional information about the Alex Awards, call Leon E. Scioscia at 202.426.8004 or 202.437.1500.