By Joe Salas
Greenwich House will honor American composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and author, David Amram, and ceramicist and Jefferson Market Garden Adopt-a-Pot Founder, Marianne Yoors, at its annual Arts Benefit, November 3rd at the Rosenthal Pavilion at NYU’s Kimmel Center (60 Washington Square South). The evening will be hosted by Carey Lowell, an actress best known for her role as ADA Jamie Ross on Law & Order, and student at Greenwich House Pottery.
A NIGHT OF CELEBRATION, HONORS AND PERFORMANCE: David Amram (above) will perform and host a meet-and-greet with his proteges, Silver City Bound, at the Greenwich House Arts Benefit. Photo credit: Chris Felver.
For over a century, Greenwich House has been the place for elevating artistic expression and a foundation shaping the Greenwich Village arts community for generations. Its arts programs—classes, recitals, concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops—lead the way in enriching the lives of all New Yorkers, maintaining the organization’s reputation as an artistic incubator and home for creative exploration for all—from novice to maestro.
The annual Arts Benefit is a celebration of the arts at Greenwich House and throughout Greenwich Village, with the night’s honorees representing the non-profit’s essentiality to the visual and performing arts throughout the Village.
One would expect no less than David Amram to hold dual roles at the celebration: honoree and performer. Mr. Amram is a classical composer, performer, and Village fixture, gaining a reputation as a master of integration of jazz, folkloric, and world music. His signature style has led him to work with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Willie Nelson, and Greenwich Village peer Jack Kerouac. In the early 1950s, he was encouraged to pursue his unique path by mentors Miles Davis, Aaron Copland, and visual artist Jackson Pollock, who himself once tenured at Greenwich House Pottery. Today, as he has for over 50 years, Mr. Amram continues to compose music while traveling the world as a conductor, soloist, bandleader, visiting scholar, and narrator in five languages.
At the Greenwich House Arts Benefit, Mr. Amram will perform and host a meet-and-greet during the cocktail reception. During the dinner and awards ceremony, Mr. Amram will perform a second time with his protégés Silver City Bound. A unique collaboration between guitarist Justin Poindexter and accordionist/keyboardist Sam Reider, Silver City Bound is American roots music in motion.
Marianne Yoors, a multi-decade long student of Greenwich House Pottery, will be honored in recognition of her commitment to the visual arts. Ms. Yoors, at 90 years of age, is a ceramicist and longtime Village resident who shares her love of art with her Village community. Ms. Yoorsestablished the Adopt-A-Pot program motivating the Pottery community at Greenwich House to beautify Jefferson Market Garden, forging an ongoing relationship between these two Village institutions—all in an effort to build communities that serve Greenwich Village residents.
Ms. Yoors turned to experimenting in clay after working for decades weaving her husband’s, the artist Jan Yoors’, gorgeous tapestries—seeking a medium she could call her own. In a quarter of a century of working with clay, Ms. Yoors has developed into a passionate master of the medium, an artist who inspires fellow students and neighbors alike.
