Kyu-Young Kim, the respected violinist who became artistic director of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in January, has another feather in his cap. Kim has won a Sally Award for his efforts to bring in more guest artists and to make the SPCO more accessible to wider audiences.
SPCO leader, Mexican dance troupe win Sally Awards
October 18, 2016 at 12:30AM
The awards, honoring commitment to the arts, were announced Monday night at St. Paul's Ordway Center, whose founder, Sally Ordway Irvine, is the awards' namesake. Handed out since 1992, the Sallys are given in five categories, and Kim won for initiative.
Provocative poet and playwright May Lee-Yang won a Sally Award for arts access. Her works include "Confessions of a Lazy Hmong Woman" and "Ten Reasons Why I'd Be a Bad Porn Star."
Also a teacher, she has presented plays in Hmong in a community where some older residents have little English proficiency.
Steven Schmidt, founder and general manager of Rochester Civic Music, won the award for commitment. In 27 years, Schmidt has brought a raft of world-music and national acts to Rochester, Minnesota's third-largest city.
On the education side, the Sally went to the Rev. Carl Walker and Grant West, founders of Walker West Music Academy in St. Paul, who were honored for offering music education to young people since 1988. About 200 students take classes at Walker West each week.
An award for vision went to Rebecca Moran Cusick, and the Mexican folkloric dance ensemble she founded in St. Paul in 1977, Los Alegres Bailadores.
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