John Arthur Green Named 2013 Spotlight Artist
By Laura Lazar.
Music for Autism would like to congratulate our 2013 Spotlight Artist, John Arthur Greene!
JAG, as we affectionately call him, captivated the crowd at our 2010 fundraiser at Toys“R”Us, and spotlighted at an interactive concert at the Mid Island Y in 2012 which was a standout experience for us as part of the Linda Rodgers Emory Concert Series. He currently performs eight times a week in Broadway’s Matilda and recently starred as Riff in the recent Broadway revival of West Side Story. In addition, he has an active cabaret and night club performance track record at such esteemed venues as 54 Below, Joe’s Pub and the Metropolitan Room. He has a tremendous amount of creativity and the talent to captivate a wide range of audiences at M4A events, on Broadway, and beyond.
Of equal importance is his commitment to service through his performing, and we are lucky to be a charity of great interest to him. Along with performing with fellow Matilda cast members at our upcoming interactive concert on September 28th in partnership with the McCarton School, he is organizing a fall fundraiser evening for us with some Broadway friends, all of who hail from a variety of shows.
We could not be more grateful to JAG for his service already and future involvement with us! He is our first singer Spotlight Artist, and now ties New York with Houston for greatest number of Spotlight Artists.
Music or Autism began the Spotlight Artist program in 2009 to recognize extraordinarily talented and gifted artists who have made a significant commitment to supporting the work of M4A. The award is given to one artist or ensemble annually and is decided on by our Musical Programming Committee. Our choice this year was unanimous. Our first Spotlight Artist was pianist Jade Simmons who is a winner of the Concert Artist Guild competition (our New York partner!) and is responsible for our expansion to Houston and now serves as our program coordinator there; our 2010 artist was trumpeter Ryan Gardner who holds a doctorate in trumpet, recently performed with us in partnership with the 92Y and performed the first ever United States M4A concert; in 2011, we named violinist Suzy Perelman who is an exceptional musician and teacher and has an extensive track record of orchestral performances on Broadway and set new standards for us for interactive programs in New York; and last year, we chose WindSync—a woodwind quintet that recently won the Concert Artist Guild competition like Jade and will make its Carnegie Hall debut this fall.
This tribute is of personal significance to our Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Robert Accordino, who has known JAG since he was eight years old, when his mother was Robert’s high school choral teacher. It has truly been a blessing watching his career in the performing arts blossom, and all of us at M4A feel so lucky to benefit from the contribution of his tremendous talents and spirit of service.
Congratulations, John Arthur Greene!
