George Lewis Wins ‘Genius’ Grant

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On Tuesday, trombonist George Lewis was named one of the 24 winners the annual “genius grants” awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. With the Fellowship award, the AACM stalwart will receive a total of $500,000 over five years from the Chicago-based foundation.

Although nominees are reviewed for their achievements, the Fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight and potential to effect positive change. The purpose of MacArthur Fellowships is to enable recipients to exercise their own creative instincts for the benefit of society at large.

Lewis is the second member of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians to win the award, as composer Anthony Braxton won in 1994.

Lewis is currently a music professor at the University of California at San Diego; and he’s currently spending the semester at the University of California at Irvine.



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