VOCALESSENCE
TO PRESENT EIGHTH ANNUAL REATHA CLARK KING AWARD TO GENERAL MILLS AT WITNESS: Stomp & Sing CONCERT

Reatha
Clark King Award Celebrates and Recognizes Empowerment of Young People

MINNEAPOLIS—January
14, 2014— VocalEssence
announces today that it will bestow the Reatha
Clark King Award for Excellence and Youth Motivation through the Cultural Arts
upon local food corporation General Mills, one of the world’s largest food
companies. General Mills is the eighth recipient of the annual award from VocalEssence, which
developed the recognition to celebrate and recognize those who provide the
resources to help organizations come closer to their visions, and those who are
in the field directly working with youth to empower their success.

VocalEssence acknowledges
General Mills for its enduring commitment to the arts in the Twin Cities, in
particular, the VocalEssence WITNESS
program. On Sunday, Feb. 9th at 4 p.m., Ellen Goldberg Luger, executive director of the
General Mills Foundation, will accept the award, a one-of-a-kind work of art
created by artist Ta-Coumba Aiken, at the VocalEssence WITNESS: Stomp
& Sing concert featuring vocal activist Melanie DeMore at
Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. 

“I am delighted to announce that the
Reatha Clark King Award this year goes to General Mills,” said Philip Brunelle,
VocalEssence artistic director. “This amazing corporation has long been nourishing
our community, recognizing and supporting the strengthening power of the arts.
General Mills shows that responsible leadership sets a great example, and
encourages us all to make the Twin Cities an even better place to live.”

In addition to being a world leader in
food production, General Mills is committed to engaging and supporting
communities where its employees live and work. Sixty years old this year, the General Mills Foundation and corporation
have given more than a billion dollars in support of causes
tied to education, the arts, hunger and nutrition wellness and natural
disasters in its communities. Its
Communities of Color grant program, founded in 2004, supports nonprofits
— including schools, theaters and other Twin Cities organizations with programs
that enrich the lives of people of color — and has served more than 700,000
children, families and individuals across the Twin Cities with a total of
$4.5 million in grants.

Past award recipients of the award include:

• 2013: Phyllis Wheatley Community Center
• 2012: Theresa Neal
• 2011: Sharon
  Sayles Belton
• 2010: Laysha Ward
• 2009: Minnesota
  Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Page and Diane Sims Page
• 2008: Patricia A.
  Harvey
• 2007: Ms. Ossie
  Brooks James

Tickets for WITNESS: Stomp & Sing
are available for $10 and up; youth ages 6-18 and students with a valid college
ID are eligible for half-price tickets. For more information about this concert
series and to purchase tickets, please call 612-371-5656 or visit www.vocalessence.org. MPR’s classical
music expert John Birge will host a pre-concert conversation with DeMore at 3
p.m.

VocalEssence, called “one of the
irreplaceable music ensembles of our time” by Dana Gioia, past chairman of
the National Endowment for the Arts,  impacts thousands of students,
singers, and composers each year through its initiative programs, contests, and
support for innovative art. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 and has debuted
more than 150 commissions and world premieres. For more information, visit www.vocalessence.org.

###