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 MAKING OUR OWN JAZZA Welcome from Founder/Honorary Artist Dear Friends, Thank you so much for your being here tonight: to support Second Generation, to celebrate its mission, and to honor tonight's distinguished Rémy Martin X.O Excellence Award honorees -- Pat Morita, Donnie Yen, and Kelly Hu. Our presence tonight at this glorious new arts facility, Jazz at Lincoln Center, is fitting in so many ways. It was just over one hundred years ago, when the dark experience of slavery silenced black voices in America, that a young generation of black musicians began expressing their own stories and experiences through a pioneering form of music that came to be known as "jazz." Similarly, Second Generation has also dedicated itself to creating and promoting a cultural voice for Asian Americans in a world where we have been left invisible for too long. We are, in essence, seeking to "make our own jazz," by nurturing those minds, those voices, those hands, and those feet that will make our stories be heard the world over. Tonight's concert celebrates that spirit of artistic creation. We begin in darkness, with an empty stage, and a blank canvas. Through an artist's vision, we fill it with pictures, images, and light. Each selection this evening, from Broadway's most beloved musicals to Second Generation's originally commissioned works, reflects that theme: of using the arts to turn a negative to a positive, to turn darkness into light.  When we look at the history of Asian Americans in the performing arts, never have there been supporters as supportive as you. Your ongoing support has enabled us to take on projects unprecedented for an ethnic theater company, including a 35 city national tour of Making Tracks beginning in April of 2005, an upcoming Broadway production of The Wedding Banquet, and a new play initiative with the playwright Michael Golamco, to make his play Achievers available to colleges and amateur groups across the country. You have helped us to transform our cultural landscape and we cannot thank you enough for that brave commitment.Thank you Rémy Martin, Chase Home Finance, our corporate partners, our volunteers, our staff, our Board, our artists, and our honorees, who have all worked so tirelessly to bring tonight and Second Generation so vividly to life. Sincerely, Welly Yang Founder/Honorary Artist Second Generation |
