Peter Nero awarded Arts Service Award by Darlington Arts Center
04/16/2007

Award to be presented at the Pyramid Club Gala on April 29, 2007

Peter Nero, two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist and founding music director and conductor of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops�, has been chosen as the 2007 recipient of the Darlington Arts Center Arts Service Award. The Award will be presented at �Art Salute to Spring 2007,� the Center�s annual performing arts benefit celebration on Sunday April 29, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Pyramid Club, an elegant private club nestled over 500 feet above Center City in the Mellon Bank Building at 1735 Market Street. Tickets are $125, $150, or $175 per person. (The $175 patron ticket includes a ticket to a Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performance). For reservations or more information, call 610.358.3632. Please RSVP by Tuesday April 24, 2007.

The Darlington Arts Center Arts Service Award honors Peter Nero�s contributions to the greater Philadelphia region�s cultural landscape. Given annually for over 25 years, the Award recognizes the careers of outstanding artists or community leaders who have promoted or supported the arts in the Greater Philadelphia region. Past recipients of the Arts Service Award include composer George Crumb, William Smith (former Philadelphia Orchestra Associate Conductor), Clarence Russell Moll (former president of Widener University), Carolyn Wyeth (painter and teacher; daughter of N.C. Wyeth), WRTI radio host Jill Pasternak, and Christofer Macatsoris (music director of the Academy of Vocal Arts).

�Art Salute to Spring 2007� will feature a musical program highlighted by romantic tangos performed by Pablo Zinger accompanied by violinist Barbara Govatos and cellist John Koen of The Philadelphia Orchestra. In addition, Darlington�s scholarship students Jennifer Campbell, Beatrice and Allison Hsieh, and the Darlington Piano Trio will perform the music of George Gershwin, Fritz Kreisler, and Paul Juon to support Darlington�s Scholarship Fund. The evening also includes fine food and an open bar.

In recognition of Darlington�s 29 years of service to the community through the arts, The Turner Construction Company is the event�s premier sponsor. Jacobs Music Company is also a proud supporter of the Darlington Arts Center and Peter Nero. In recognition of Mr. Nero�s stellar career and the Arts Service Award, Jacobs Music provides the incomparable Henry Z Steinway limited edition Steinway and Sons grand piano for the event.

On January 27, 2007, Peter Nero performed on the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on �They Can�t Take That Away from Me.� Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart�s second of four Great American Songbook recordings, As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2. A two-time Grammy Award-winner, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. �If he weren�t such a superb musician, Peter Nero might be easy to dismiss as a mere great entertainer,� notes Peter Dobrin, music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. For his ability to pick just the right material, Mr. Nero most recently was dubbed �Dr. Feelgood.� Named �the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer� by the Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy Award for �Best New Artist� in 1961, another in 1962, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. Mr. Nero�s recent guest performances include engagements with the Toledo Symphony, the National Arts Centre Symphony in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. He has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award.

Darlington Arts Center, a nonprofit school of the arts located in Garnet Valley, Delaware County, strives to serve the cultural needs of a diverse community by providing a school and outreach programs for the visual and performing arts. Darlington promotes the enjoyment and understanding of the arts through outreach programs, private instruction, classes, performances, and special events for all ages. Founded in 1978 by Diana Sophocles Hemmenway, Darlington Arts Center currently serves 4,000 people. Darlington has a distinguished faculty of 67 and offers a wide selection of classes and instruction in music, the visual arts, drama, dance, and fitness. The Center�s Outreach Initiative reaches over 300 underserved and special needs children and youth each year. For more information, visit www.darlingtonarts.org.

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