This Sunday evening past, the Cleveland Orchestra, along with the Central State University Chorus, the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus and various soloists gathered at Severance Hall to celebrate the timeless legacy of Doctor King. The evening began with opening remarks by Dennis W. LaBarre, President of the Musical Arts Association. This was followed by an inspiring invocation by The Reverend Courtney Clayton Jenkins, Pastor of the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church then followed by Margot James Copeland who chairs the KeyBank Foundation.
It was then time to present the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Awards. Receiving this year’s awards were Donshon Wilson, Dontea Gresham, and the YouthAbility Program.
Representing the City of Cleveland in presenting the awards were The Honorable Frank G. Jackson, Mayor of the City of Cleveland, The Honorable Kevin Conwell, Councilman, Ward 9 of the City of Cleveland. Also on hand to present the awards were The Honorable Yvonne M. Conwell of the Cuyahoga County Council, District 7, The Honorable Marcia L Fudge of the U.S. House of Representatives and The Honorable Edward FitzGerald who currently serves as Cuyahoga County Executive.
The awards recognize an individual, a youth and a business or organization that have positively impacted Cleveland in the spirit of the teachings and example of Dr. King. Donshon Wilson received the award for an individual, Dontea Gresham received the award honoring a youth, and the YouthAbility Program received the award honoring a business or organization. The recipients were honored at the Orchestra’s 32nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson presented the awards, along with Cleveland Councilman Kevin Conwell and Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Yvonne Conwell.
Donshon Wilson is the Band Director of the nationally known Shaw High School Marching Band. A 1987 graduate of Shaw and a member of its Marching Band, Mr. Wilson is also a graduate of Central State University. Several years ago, on a visit home, Mr. Wilson went to see his beloved Shaw Band and found a mere shadow of what he remembered. At that moment Mr. Wilson’s life changed. He offered his services to the Band Director as a volunteer – the beginning of a wonderful journey. Over the next few years Mr. Wilson worked with Band members, the school and the community to raise the band to new heights. In 2004, Mr. Wilson was named Shaw High Band Director.
In a community that suffers from a high crime rate, drugs and poverty, at a time when East Cleveland Schools, including Shaw, were placed under Fiscal Watch by the state, Mr. Wilson was unstoppable. He created the Music Through the Streets non-profit foundation to raise money to support the band. Through hard work, discipline, inspiration and love, Mr. Wilson led Shaw to premiere status among high school marching bands, and in the process won over 150 competitions. In 2008, Shaw High School Marching Band was one of only 5 U.S. high schools invited to participate in the International Musical Salute to the Olympics in Beijing, China! Mr. Wilson and the Band effectively rallied community support and raised the funds necessary for the trip, an experience Mr. Wilson described as life-changing for all.
Mr. Wilson has created not only a program of musical excellence but one also characterized by academic excellence. In a school where the graduation rate hovers below 40%, Mr. Wilson has a 100% graduation rate for his Band members (most of whom are on honor roll), with 99% going on to college. Mr. Donshon Wilson literally changes lives, impacts the community, and exemplifies the spirit and ideals of Dr. King.
Dontea Gresham, a high school senior, already exemplifies the spirit of Dr. King and of civil rights leaders past and present who work to move our country forward amid the many challenging issues facing our community. Dontea is a young man with a strong grasp of the needs of youth and is actively committed to bringing about positive change. He serves in important leadership roles as President of the Cleveland NAACP Youth Council, President of the Ohio NAACP Youth & College Division, President of his Senior Class, and President of the National Honor Society. Dontea led the effort at his school, MLK Jr. High School, to register voters during the NAACP National Day of Action. He works every day after school as a Clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, and serves as a Facilitator at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Corrections Facility. Dontea is a motivational speaker and has presented to youth organizations throughout the community and state, and he is actively involved in his church. Dontea is a young man on a mission to better his community through service and leadership.
The Rick Horvitz and Erica Hartman-Horvitz YouthAbility Program serves disabled and at-risk youth by engaging them in volunteerism. Each year more than 300 YouthAbility participants donate nearly 8,500 hours of service to the community. Participants span the spectrum of socio-economic classes, religions, cultures and abilities. They include juvenile offenders, suspended and expelled students, foster children, those at-risk of dropping out of school, teens and young adults with Downs syndrome, autism, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, visual or hearing impairments, emotional disturbances, stroke and cancer survivors, and more. While most participants were on the ‘receiving end’ of service before coming to the program, through YouthAbility they learnthey can serve their community, promote inclusion and tolerance, and make a positive difference.
YouthAbility participants are advocates, successfully lobbying Congress for inclusive language in the Serve America Act by traveling to Capitol Hill to meet with House and Senate staff urging them to include disabled and at-risk populations in national service programs. YouthAbility has created economic opportunities for underserved and disenfranchised youth who develop job skills through internships often leading to paid employment. YouthAbility uses theater and visual arts to empower its participants who create large-scale murals and write/perform original plays throughout the community promoting tolerance, respect, self worth, and understanding. And through a wide range of community service projects YouthAbility participants break down barriers of discrimination and prove the worth of disabled and at-risk populations.
YouthAbility participants are game changers. They embody the words of Dr. King, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
Award recipients received an engraved award commemorating the recognition, as well as special subscription packages to Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall.
The Nomination Process
Members of the Greater Cleveland community submitted nominations through The Cleveland Orchestra and the Greater Cleveland Partnership. A committee of eight community leaders reviewed the nominations and selected the award recipients. Committee members are: Robert P. Madison, chairman and CEO, Robert P. Madison International, Inc., also a trustee of the Musical Arts Association and vice chair of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Community Relations Committee; Yvonne Conwell, Cuyahoga County Councilwoman; Andrew Jackson, senior vice president and executive director, Greater Cleveland Partnership; Valarie J. McCall, Chief of Government Affairs, City of Cleveland; Cheri Daniels, vice president, The Call & Post; Shirrell Greene, deputy to the CEO, Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Marsha Mockabee, president and CEO, The Urban League of Greater Cleveland; and Deborah Perkins, president, The Presidents’ Council.
MLK Celebration Concert
The Cleveland Orchestra’s 32nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert took place on Sunday, January 15, 2011, at Severance Hall, under the direction of Chelsea Tipton II and William Henry Caldwell. Performing as violin soloist in this year’s celebration concert was Sphinx Competition junior division prizewinner Alexandra Alvarado Switala. The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus and the Central State University Chorus, prepared by William Henry Caldwell, also participated. The program featured selections by composers including Ludwig van Beethoven, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Felix Mendelssohn, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as spirituals and gospel songs by Roland Carter and Uzee Brown, Jr. and arrangements of traditional spirituals.
The concert began with a rousing rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” followed by “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. When the capacity audience was again seated, there followed a wonderful mix of music beginning with Festive Overature, Opus 96 by Dmitri Shostakovich. This was followed by “Thanks Be To God” from Elijah, Opus 70 by Felix Mendelssohn and featured the Central State University Chorus. The Chorus was again featured in the next traditional spiritual A Cappella piece titled “Don’t Let Nobody Turn You ‘Round”.
Next on stage was solo violinist Alexandra Alvarado Switala who launched into the very intricate and difficult “Tzigane” by Maurice Ravel. The first portion of the program came to a close with “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing” from “Five Mystical Songs” which brought the full power of the Central State University Chorus combined with the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus awed the crowd into a standing ovation.
After a short intermission, three a cappella gospel songs: “Precious Lord” (WORDS BY Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey, music by George Nelson Allen), “I’ve Been ‘Buked” (traditional, arranged for chorus by Hall Johnson) and “Praise His Holy Name” (traditional, arranged for chorus by Keith Hampton) were performed by the Choruses. This was followed by the Cleveland Orchestra performing “Dance Négre” by Samual Coleridge Taylow. Closing out the evening was a truly inspired rendition of “We Shall Overcome” (words by Charles Albeert Tindley and others to music from a gospel song and arranged for chorus and orchestra by Uzee Brown Jr.). Everyone in attendance was on their feet and singing with the Central State University Chorus and the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Chorus as the Cleveland Orchestra played with precision and gusto. It was the perfect finale to a wonderful and inspired program. As the thunderous applause died down, everyone in attendance was treated to an exceptional encore by soloist Kimberlyy Stewert who sang "I Love The Lord" backed by the combined chorus and orchestra. It was an evening of exceptional performances in which tolerance, justice and brotherly love were the themes for all who viewed could carry back home with them.
The concert was broadcast live by radio stations WCLV (104.9 FM) and WCPN (90.3 FM) and was sponsored by KeyBank, a Cleveland Orchestra Partner in Excellence. The musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra donated their services for this concert as a benefit to the Musical Arts Association Sustaining Fund.
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