Arts Council Announces Renaissance Award Winner

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts is pleased to announce that Key West pianist Franko Richmond is the winner of the 2001 Renaissance Award. This year's award, $15,000, is for an emerging performing artist. (The winner of the 2000 Renaissance Award was wood sculptor Duke Rood.)

Mr. Richmond's project, Concerto Latino, is the scoring, recording, and performance of a world-premiere piano concerto, blending elements of jazz, Latin, and classical music, in collaboration with the Key West Pops Orchestra. Much of the work is already written and will be expa nded to incorporate the orchestra. In addition to the widespread visibility this endeavor will give the artist and the Keys arts community, the work will take on new life beyond the Keys as an exciting addition to the orchestral repertoire.

Franko Richmond is a broadly experienced musician with dazzling technique and the versatility to cross cultural borders on a moment's notice. A popular figure in both solo and group settings, Mr. Richmond is a master teacher in the Bahama Village Music Program. (His 2001-02 BVMP improvisation workshop is sponsored by the Florida Keys Council of the Arts ArtReach program.)

The Renaissance Award panel, composed of arts professionals from the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys as well as Miami, met August 30 in Marathon and chose one winner among several applicants who similarly represented all sections of Monroe County. The arts council's board of directors approved the panel's recommendation on September 27.

The Renaissance Award reflects the generosity of a private benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous.