Jessye Norman President Barack Obama presented the National Medal of Arts to world-renowned singer and Augusta-native Jessye Norman last week for her outstanding achievements and support of the arts. The medal, the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence, was presented by the President and Mrs. Michele Obama in an East Room ceremony at the White House. The National Medal of Arts is a White House initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jessye Norman is one of the world’s most celebrated sopranos, recognized for her achievements as a singer and for broadening contemporary operatic repertoire. Norman is renowned for her unparalleled voice and vocal phrasing that is spontaneous and passionate. She is equally adept performing American spirituals or French chansons, as she is famous for acclaimed operatic performances. A five time Grammy award winner for her contributions to classical music, she joined Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and other stellar performers as a recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as many other awards, and she is also the youngest recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.

Norman's non-performance interests focus on assisting others and include many cultural, educational and charitable institutions on which she serves as trustee and/or spokesperson; and, in particular, her beloved Jessye Norman School of the Arts which provides an afterschool, tuition-free program in music performance, writing, drama, dance and graphic art for middle school students in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia.

Founded by the Rachel Longstreet Foundation, The Jessye Norman School of the Arts is an after-school program designed to develop and nurture the artistic and creative talents of students.

The School of the Arts serves the cultural and educational needs of these traditionally under-served youth by providing: free fine arts instruction, academic tutoring, an opportunity for advanced study in dance, drama, music, and art exposure to professionals working within the arts fields, information on possible careers in the arts knowledge of technical aspects of presentation and performance.

For more information, visit the website at www.jessyenormanschool.or g., or call 706-877-0411.