News Release
Dr. Frank Letcher to receive Governor's Arts Award
Nov. 6, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
Oklahoma City, OK – Dr. Frank Letcher, Tulsa, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 32nd Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Dr. Letcher will receive a Community Service Award which recognizes individuals for significant contributions to the arts in specific Oklahoma communities in the areas of leadership and volunteerism.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, 16 individuals and four organizations will be honored for their contributions to the arts in their communities or throughout the state. The ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 28th in the 4th Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol and is open to the public. Presiding at the ceremony will be Council Chair Jim Tolbert and Interim Executive Director Suzanne Tate.
Upon retirement from his 30 year practice of neurosurgery in Tulsa in September, 2005, Dr. Letcher created the plan for and founded the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, serving as its Founding President for two years. Under his leadership, Dr. Letcher changed the traditional symphony orchestra model to one of self-governance, where musicians take an active role in the day-to-day operations of the orchestra. This innovative business model received acknowledgement from the American Federation of Musicians, the American Symphony Orchestra League and praise from national industry leaders such as Nick Webster, former chief executive of the New York Philharmonic.
Dr. Letcher grew up in Miami, Oklahoma with a love of music imparted by his physician-violinist father who founded the Yale Symphony Orchestra in 1926. During his undergraduate years, Frank Letcher played French horn in the Yale University Symphony Orchestra. A lifelong aficionado of music and the arts, Dr. Letcher has served on the Tulsa Opera Board of Directors.
A reception on the first floor of the Capitol will follow the 4 p.m. ceremony. A complete list of Governor’s Arts Awards recipients and their photos are available at www.arts.ok.gov. For more information about the Governor’s Arts Awards, please contact Ann Dee Lee at (405) 521-2931 or at anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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