June 27, 2007

Five Emerging Artists Receive Shenson Performing Art Fellowships from The San Francisco Foundation

(SAN FRANCISCO) – Wednesday, June 27, 2007 – Sandra R. Hernández, M.D., CEO, and Tatwina Lee, Chair of the Board of Trustees, announced today the five recipients of the first Shenson Performing Arts Fellowships. These awards seek to invest in the next generation of Bay Area performing artists, and provide $5,000 to each recipient’s organization to assist with their professional advancement.

The Fellows all exhibit artistic merit and were selected for their potential for future excellence and impact in his or her performing arts discipline. The 2006-2007 Fellows are:

• Soprano Heidi Melton with the Adler Fellows Program at San Francisco Opera
• Kathak dancer Charlotte Moraga with the Chitresh Das Dance Company
• Dancer Sean Orza with San Francisco Ballet
• Actress Amanda Sykes with ACT’s Master of Fine Arts program
• Sitarist Arjun Verma with the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music

“The Doctors Shenson were very committed to the arts, specifically the performing arts. In their spirit, we hope these fellowships inspire young artists to excel in their craft. They should never stop striving for excellence, and we want them to know that they will be rewarded for it – in this case, sooner rather than later,” said Fred Levin, cousin of Doctors Ben and A. Jess Shenson, who started the Shenson Foundation at The San Francisco Foundation. Fred and his wife, Nancy Livingston, are the second generation of stewards of the Shenson Foundation.

The Shenson Performing Arts Fellowships are one of 11 awards given to individual artists in the Bay Area by The San Francisco Foundation. Nominations for this Fellowship were invited from a group of 18 Bay Area arts organizations that have excellent professional-track performing arts training programs.