Composer and Cornell alumnus Steve Reich and senior Maria Dizzia have been selected as the first recipients of two new university awards to recognize excellence in the arts.
The Cornell Alumni Award for Distinction in the Arts will be formally presented to Reich, and Dizzia will receive the Student Arts Award in February 1998 at a campus program.
The awards, to be presented annually by the Cornell Council and the Cornell Council for the Arts, honor Cornell alumni who have achieved prominence in their fields and an outstanding undergraduate or graduate student who is enrolled in one of Cornell's arts-related degree programs.
"These awards are designed to increase the awareness among alumni and the campus community of the extraordinary people who are doing extraordinary things in the arts," said Percy Browning '56, chair of the Cultural Endeavors Committee of the Cornell Council.
Reich, 61, one of America's foremost contemporary composers, studied philosophy at Cornell. Before graduating in 1957, he was introduced to various music forms by Professor William Austin. Reich also studied at the Juilliard School and Mills College, where he received a master's degree in composition in 1963. Shortly after he formed his own group, Steve Reich and Musicians, and began to compose and record music noted for its instrumental and vocal combinations.
His trip to Ghana in the 1970s brought an African influence to his music and led to the release of Drumming, his first widely known work. Reich also enjoyed success pairing choral music with full-scale orchestration. His 1981 release, Tehillim (Hebrew for "psalms"), the first of his pieces for voice and orchestra, is considered to be one of his most impressive works. His highly laudatory work Different Trains was composed as a response to the Holocaust. The piece synchronizes the voices of concentration camp survivors with train whistles and string quartets. This past July Nonesuch records released a 10-CD set of Reich's works, titled Works 1965-1995.
Dizzia has distinguished herself in Cornell's artistic community as a first-rate actress, appearing in eight Department of Theatre Arts productions, including The House of Blue Leaves, Angels in America and Measure for Measure. She has demonstrated a broad range of acting ability, playing both comedic and serious roles.
Dizzia, a native of Cranford, N.J., entered Cornell as a second-semester freshman in January 1994; she will graduate in December with a bachelor's degree in theatre. To be eligible for the Student Arts Award, students must be nominated by faculty in their academic departments. Nominations are reviewed by members of the Cultural Endeavors Committee of the Cornell Council and the Council for the Arts.