The 2012 Arts & Humanities Award

If you have any questions about the event please call 413-545-1786

New England Public Radio is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Arts & Humanities Award.

This year, The WFCR Foundation will honor glass artist Josh Simpson (Outstanding Individual), The Young@Heart Chorus (Outstanding Organization) and Gary Bernice, Director of Bands at The Springfield High School of Science and Technology (Emerging Talent).

Recipients will be celebrated at the annual Arts & Humanities Award Gala, May 1, 2012 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. We’re thrilled to announce that Carl Kasell, veteran newscaster and the official judge and scorekeeper for NPR's weekly news quiz show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, will join us as the keynote speaker.

Established by the WFCR Foundation, Inc. in 2008, the New England Public Radio Arts and Humanities Award has been recognizing the rich and varied arts scene in our region for the past three years. The award recognizes the contributions of local talent, and brings greater public awareness to the critical role played by musicians, artists, dancers, actors, writers, and teachers in western New England, andis given in three categories: Outstanding Organization, Outstanding Individual and Emerging Talent.

All proceeds from the Gala support programing on WFCR and all-news WNNZ. We hope you’ll join us for this special evening as we celebrate the incredible arts community in our region and everyone who has a part in making it so.

About Carl Kasell

Carl is the official judge and scorekeeper for NPR's weekly news quiz show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, which premiered in January 1998. For 30 years, Carl provided newscasts for NPR's Morning Edition, a role he held since the program's inception in 1979 until 2009. A veteran broadcaster, Carl's radio career spans more than 50 years.

Carl was fascinated by radio at a young age, and recalls playing deejay with his grandmother's wind-up Victrola in Goldsboro. He worked at a local radio station part-time during high school, and was an actor in local theater.

He’s also an accomplished magician… see what tricks he’s got up his sleeve at the Arts & Humanities Awards gala this May!

More on this year’s recipients:

Josh Simpson (Outstanding Individual)

Josh has been working and making a living as a glass artist for more than 40 years – 35 of those in Shelburne, Massachusetts. His work has been exhibited all over the world in solo and group shows from Tokyo, Japan, to the White House, to right here in western Massachusetts at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield Massachusetts, with a retrospective in 2007-08.

In addition to creating incredible glass pieces that have won him accolades from American Craft Exposition, Glass Art Society, and the National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution among many others, Josh has a long tradition of teaching and philanthropy.  In 1985 he founded the Craft Emergency Relief Fund – a national foundation dedicated to helping craft artists who have suffered some disaster in their lives that prevents them from making a living. The Fund has helped many hundreds of artists, including those impacted by storms like Katrina and Irene.  He also helped to  furnish Snow Farm, The New England Craft Program in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, with a full serivce glass shop, and glass blowing equipment. 

Josh is also well known for his commitment to public television and public radio. He serves on the board of Tribunes for WGBY, Springfield and has donated his “planet” pieces to New England Public Radio for many years.  We’re thrilled to honor Josh this year for his impact on the Pioneer Valley and his accomplishments as an artist, philanthropist and teacher both here and around the world.

Read more about Josh Simpson

The Young@Heart Chorus (Outstanding Organization)

From its beginnings in 1982, the Young@Heart Chorus, led by director Bob Cilman, has enthralled audiences from Northampton to Japan with its music, and its mission. With current members between the ages of 73 and 89, the Young@Heart Chorus injects their versions of classic rock and roll songs with incredible joie de vivre, passion and humor, inspiring audiences here at home and around the world. To quote Ellen Freyman, who nominated Young@Heart for the award this year, “[the chorus] has demonstrated that you don’t need to be a teenager to love rock and roll, nor be young to perform it. You just need to be young at heart!”

This year, the chorus celebrates its 30th anniversary with a new album, and plans for another world tour.  The WFCR Foundation considers the Young@Heart Chorus a regional treasure, and is proud to honor its director, Bob Cilman, and its members with the 2012 Arts & Humanities Award. 

Read more about the Young@Heart Chorus and director Bob Cilman

Gary Bernice (Emerging Talent)

Gary began his career at The High School of Science & Technology straight out of college in 2007. His mission was to grow the school band from 20 students to over 100. He has exceeded his expectations. The band now includes over 300 members, and performs in a variety of venues all over western New England and the United States.

With 85% of The High School of Science & Technology’s students living at or below the poverty level and with a graduation rate well below 50%, Gary has developed a music program that has provided young people with a feeling of accomplishment, belonging and pride.  Statistics state that there is a 98% graduation rate for students who stay in the band for more than one year.

Gary has also developed a program called Mentoring Through Music which provides elementary, middle and high school students with free music lessons after school. His band students nurture and support the younger students, and the program aims to instill “leadership, pride, self-discipline, responsibility, critical thinking and creativity through the study and performance of music.”

Read more about Gary and The High School of Science & Technology’s Band Program

The 2012 New England Public Radio Arts & Humanities Award is sponsored by St. Germaine Investment Management (Producing Sponsor), Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., and Thomson Financial Management, Inc. (Supporting Sponsors).

The recipients of last year's Arts & Humanities Award included the Charter Oak Cultural Center of Hartford, CT (Outstanding Organization), composer and musician Peter Blanchette and founder of the Drama Studio, Steve Hays (Outstanding Individuals), and children's musician and educator, Aric Bieganek (Emerging Talent).