FIRST Fest

The First Fest Countdown

DAYS HOURS MINUTES

	Jon Nakamatsu nominator: Alma Taylor Born in San Jose, he won the 1997 Van Cliburn piano competition, and had only one teacher, Mrs. Derryberry, who died this year. Mr. Nakamatsu never attended a music school, college or university as other winners have in the past. He is a favorite of local audiences, playing with Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose Chamber Orchestra and is doing duo concerts with Jon Manasse, clarinetist. His reviews are glowing. He is a favorite with Bay Area audiences and plays all over the U.S. and Asia. We are very proud of him.
arts & culture “firsts” submissions
	Notre Dame High School & City Lights Theatre Company nominator: Leslie Arioto City Lights is the first professional company allowed to collaborate in Tim Robbins‚ Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project. Since Notre Dame has a longstanding relationship with City Lights, they have been asked to co-produce it with them. Together we’re actually forging a pilot program, ensuring both educational opportunity and the chance for the best local actors to be involved. The students will be cast in age appropriate roles, apprenticing/interning under professional theater designers and crewing the show. Established to facilitate discussion about the Death Penalty, it fits right in with Notre Dame’s junior year curriculum, which was already using the film in Religious Studies and discussing the Death Penalty throughout the year in English and Social Studies.
	Jon Nakamatsu nominator: Alma Taylor Born in San Jose, he won the 1997 Van Cliburn piano competition, and had only one teacher, Mrs. Derryberry, who died this year. Mr. Nakamatsu never attended a music school, college or university as other winners have in the past. He is a favorite of local audiences, playing with Symphony Silicon Valley, San Jose Chamber Orchestra and is doing duo concerts with Jon Manasse, clarinetist. His reviews are glowing. He is a favorite with Bay Area audiences and plays all over the U.S. and Asia. We are very proud of him.
	First Sikh Scouts Troop Formed in Santa Clara County nominator: Courtney Smith Kramer The Sikh Gurdwara, CA in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America announces the formation of first Sikh Scouts Troop in the USA. In June of 2009, Troop 600 was initiated under guidance and support from our Assistant Scout Executive, Eric Tarbox and our Coyote Creek District Executive, Ken Schott. The charter organization for the Sikh Scouts is Khalsa School at the Sikh Gurdwara - San Jose.
	FIRST Fest nominator: Joshua Russell In 2009, with a leadership team in place and the vision of founder Leigh Weimers, we launched the first virtual festival celebrating the firsts that have come from Silicon Valley.
	TheatreWorks nominator: Carla Befera "First Theatre to give South Bay Audiences a Look At Broadway Musicals, New Works, Local Premieres" TheatreWorks, celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, in 2009 gave us our first glimpse of regional premieres like DISTRACTED, YELLOW FACE, A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS and world premieres such as TINYARD HILL and DADDY LONG LEGS. (And this year their musical MEMPHIS made it to Broadway, where it is playing to sold out houses.)
	Children's Musical Theater San Jose nominator: Stephanie Morrison CMTSJ is the first San Jose performing arts group to receive National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) jobs preservation funding, established through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The theater has received two other NEA grants this year in support of specific shows: Candide and The Who’s Tommy.
	Portuguese Heritage Publications of California (PHPC) nominator: Josse Alves PHPC has been publishing works of both the San Jose area and California that safeguard the history of the Portuguese Community as well as the literature, poetry and arts of the community. It is unique in its endeavors.
	Silicon Valley Puzzle Day nominator: Lisa Pampuch This Sudoku and crossword puzzle tournament, now in its fourth year, benefits the Morgan Hill Library. It is the first and only Sudoku and crossword puzzle tournament in Silicon Valley, and as far as we know, anywhere. It attracts Sudoku superstars like former Sudoku world champ Thomas Snyder and crossword puzzle superstars like Tyler Hinman, five-time American Crossword Puzzle Tournament champ who was featured in the movie Wordplay. Will Shortz, New York Times puzzle editor, provides our crossword puzzles, and Snyder designs our championship round Sudoku puzzles. See svpuzzle.org for more information.
	Leigh Weimers nominator: AJ Frank First appearance on YouTube
	South FIRST Fridays - Brian Eder and Cherri Lakey nominator: Julian Peeples South First Fridays is San Jose's art crawl in downtown's arts district, SoFA. Brain Eder and Cherri Lakey, owners of Anno Domini Gallery, were the visionaries behind this event that spotlights San Jose's rich artistic inventory.
	Steely Dan at the San Jose Civic nominator: Dan Fenton Steely Dan was the first major artist to return to the San Jose Civic in its new debut as a revitalized concert venue. The duo performed in the building in 1973 and returned again in October 2009. The San Jose Civic has hosted other legendary artists such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra since being built in 1934.
	Barbara Day Turner nominator: Brent Heisinger Barbara Day Turner has commissioned and premiered roughly 80 new music compositions composed for the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble that she started almost about 20 years ago. That to me is newness personified. She remains the director and conductor and makes it a point to review and select new works. Rarely is there a concert provided by the SJCO that does not have a new work performed. The task demands superb musicianship as well as exceptional organization abilities. She also has established the San Jose Chamber Youth Orchestra which also premiers new works.
	Michael Pisani nominator: Michael Pisani For providing theatre programs and printing for all the theatre groups big and small throughout this valley and the bay area since 1932. We have helped A.M.T., Opera San Jose, Children's Theatre, Mountain Winery, just to name a few.
	Jared Duba nominator: Arminius Mignea I like Jared's originality in using a form of music to communicate a positive and constructive message of hope, truth and direction. He is an inspired young fellow whose message may resonate with so many young people in Bay Area
	Lucy Larson nominator: Susan Krane First museum educator to win a national award from the American Association of Museum for a YouTube video, which featured The Giant Artichoke
	Wun Mark nominator: Wun Mark Cantonese Opera Association-Silicon Valley is the first and only organization in Silicon Valley to promote Cantonese theatre, arts and culture for the Cantonese-Chinese community. COA established the first non-profit organization to present and promote traditional Cantonese Opera music and performances in Silicon Valley for the benefit of the community. The Cantonese people were the first Chinese immigrants in the 1850's, brought over by Leland Stanford to help build the Transcontinental railroad and mine gold. The Cantonese people also established the first Chinatowns in Silicon Valley.
	Montalvo Arts Center nominator: Laura Harris First artist in residence program in the west
	genARTS Mentorship Program nominator: Karen Kwan genARTS Silicon Valley, a network of next generation arts leaders, launched its first mentorship program which connects emerging leaders with established arts professionals.
	San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival nominator: Leigh Henderson The SJMMHF was the first mariachi festival in San Jose and the first festival whose Artistic Director was invited to testify before Congress on music education, the first SJ fest to be profiled in the New York Times and the first to break the attendance record at HP Pavilion for Latin music events
	San Jose Symphony nominator: Alma Taylor This may be a dubious honor, but the 123-year old orchestra, the oldest symphony orchestra west of the Mississippi, which means the first, went bankrupt in 2001due to poor management. They had continued to add more concerts each year in spite of going in the whole with each one. The City Council voted not to rescue them with the $3,000,000 they requested. The story goes that when they were first established as a symphony orchestra they had only one tuxedo, so in order for the entire orchestra to be seen in a photograph each member (all men) wore that one tux and pictures were taken separately and pieced together.
	Dance Theatre International nominator: Carla Befera "The First South Bay Dance Company to send one up to the Majors" -- Dance Theatre International was proud this year to have alumna Kristina Lind, who has been dancing with the San Jose studio since she was 5, selected from thousands of dancers and offered a coveted, full company contract with the world-renowned San Francisco Ballet.
	TheatreWorks nominator: Bridget Summers The South Bay’s TheatreWorks is the first theatre company in the Silicon Valley to build a national reputation drawing celebrated artists to its doors. With an annual Writer's Retreat and New Works Festival, TheatreWorks is an incubator for new plays, drawing acclaimed artists to develop and premiere spectacular new shows on its stages, meaning Silicon Valley audiences get the first look! From John Caird’s new musical, Daddy Long Legs, premiering in January, to Joe diPietro (whose Broadway hit Memphis was seen for the first time on TheatreWorks stages,) TheatreWorks has consistently brought the Bay its first look at great theatre.
	City of Mountain View nominator: Patricia Cheng In October 2009, the City of Mountain View produced its first local celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month (NAHM). The event increased awareness of and participation in arts activities in Mountain View and laid the groundwork for an annual celebration of NAHM in the City. Organized by the City’s Performing Arts Committee and Visual Arts Committee and a team of community volunteers, the festivities included a Mayor’s Proclamation, displays of special banners in the City Hall Rotunda, and an Arts Challenge in which participants qualified for a random drawing for prizes donated from six local arts organizations.
	Left Coast Live nominator: Brendan Rawson Left Coast Live was the first, week-long music festival in Downtown San Jose which focused on showcasing the tremendous local musical talent that exists throughout the Bay Area. Left Coast Live also helped serve as a catalyst to jump-start a sustained live music scene in San Jose.
	Nils Peterson nominator: Anna Weldon Arts Council Silicon Valley and the County of Santa Clara named Nils Peterson as the first ever Santa Clara County Poet Laureate. The post was formed to help create poetic identity throughout the county.
	Camera Cinemas nominator: Amy Choice Camera Cinemas: first independent movie theater chain to mix art and hollywood films, also the first to do film retrospectives, tributes, repertory cinema...the first movie theater in SJ to do a sing-along series and the first to create a "movies for parents and their babies" days -- we call 'em Diaper Days. Also the first to do in-person celebrity tributes and special appearances, and of course, the first to have monthly Cinema Club screenings.

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