Announcer: Please welcome to the stage David Hunt.

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to a very special night.

Tonight is one of the very few events throughout the year when the entire campus of Lincoln Center comes together.

You're going to see the stars of the future.

These amazing people are already world class at what they do, and they're really ready to take their place on the big stage.

So here's how it works for tonight.

Over the course of the year, each of the artistic directors from each of the constituents across Lincoln Center nominates an artist who, in their view, is already outstanding and has the potential to be truly, truly world class.

And each of them is going to come tonight and perform for you.

And so without further delay, let me introduce an actress who many of you will know well.

She's appeared in the Lincoln Center Theater of "The King and I," as well as "Les Mis" and "The Phantom of the Opera."

Ladies and gentlemen, Ali Ewoldt.

[ Applause ] Good evening.

I, like so many artists and patrons, am fortunate to get to enjoy this incredible campus.

And whenever I'm here, I'm reminded again and again why Lincoln Center is synonymous the world over with artistic excellence.

Tonight, that tradition of excellence continues as we recognize our first recipient of the Lincoln Center Award, Stella Chen.

Stella is a young violinist whose talent has already earned her the Robert Levin Award from Harvard and the top prize at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition.

She was the youngest prize winner ever of the Menuhin Competition and has been mentored by luminaries like Li Lin, Donald Weilerstein, and Itzhak Perlman.

Nominated by the Juilliard School, this remarkable musician infuses her playing with great spontaneity and a sophistication that belies her young age.

Let's take a closer look at Stella Chen.

Chen: Before the age of 17, I would have described Lincoln Center as, you know, the center of arts and culture, basically, in the United States and in the world.

But now I can say that it's also my home.

So, my parents wanted me to be exposed to everything that I could, 'cause they didn't have that opportunity growing up.

And so they started me on the piano.

And then I saw a girl play the violin in concert, and I thought, "Mom, that's the one for me," 'cause I was very attracted to the singing quality of the violin.

So that's how I got started, and it's been with me ever since.

♪♪ This spring, Ms. Chen will make her official Lincoln Center debut with the Juilliard Orchestra.

But tonight, we get a sneak preview.

Here to play Henryk Wieniawski's "Polonaise in D Major" and accompanied by Jinhee Park, please welcome Stella Chen.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] It is my privilege to present the first Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award to Stella Chen.

[ Cheers and applause ] Announcer: Please welcome award-winning soprano and board member of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Harolyn Blackwell.

[ Applause ] Good evening.

It is always exciting when a new singer joins the Metropolitan Opera community.

With every new voice comes a potential reinvention of a classic piece.

Who knows who the next great Bruennhilde or Otello will be, or who will go on to create a new role in an original work?

These young talents keep our art form fresh and our perspective relevant, so I am thrilled to be presenting this next Emerging Artist Award to Emily D'Angelo.

This exceptional young woman dazzled in the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions not only because of her incredible voice, but also because of her passion and her sensitivity for the material.

When she made her Met debut in 2018, it seemed that she was at the beginning of a long relationship with Lincoln Center.

But actually, that relationship began years before.

I'll let the video explain.

D'Angelo: I came here to New York when I was maybe 16 or something like that, and got standing room tickets to see "The Magic Flute."

And I saw the production that ended up actually being my debut at the Met.

So that's my main connection here, although I have worked with the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center, and we did a concert together in Greece.

♪ Réveille-toi ♪ I sang Ravel Greek songs, and we traveled there, and they recorded them and put them on PBS.

A lot of the different cultures that I get to visit and the different people that I get to meet, they all play into what inspires me and making meaningful art.

♪ Alliés ♪ Now to perform "Disprezzata regina" by Monteverdi, accompanied by David Heiss on cello and John Lenti on the theorbo, please welcome Emily D'Angelo.

[ Applause ] ♪♪ ♪ Disprezzata regina ♪ ♪ Regina, regina disprezzata ♪ ♪ Disprezzata regina del monarca romano ♪ ♪ Afflitta, afflitta ♪ ♪ Afflitta moglie ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Che fo, ove son, che penso, che penso?

♪ ♪ O delle donne miserabil sesso ♪ ♪ Se la natura e'l cielo libere ci produce ♪ ♪ Il matrimonio ♪ ♪ Il matrimonio c'incatena serve ♪ ♪ Se concepiamo l'uomo ♪ ♪ O delle donne miserabil sesso ♪ ♪ Al nostr'empio tiran formiam le membra ♪ ♪ Allattiamo il carnefice crudele ♪ ♪ Che ci scarna e ci svena ♪ ♪ E siam forzate ♪ ♪ Siam forzate per indegna sorte ♪ ♪ A noi medesme ♪ ♪ Partorir la morte ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Nerone, Nerone, empio Nerone ♪ ♪ Marito, o dio, o dio ♪ ♪ Marito bestemmiato pur sempre ♪ ♪ E maledetto dai cordogli miei ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Dove, dove, ohimè ♪ ♪ Dove sei?

♪ ♪ In braccio di Poppea, in braccio di Poppea ♪ ♪ Di Poppea tu dimori felice ♪ ♪ E godi, felice e godi ♪ ♪♪ ♪ E intanto ♪ ♪ Il frequente cader ♪ ♪ De' pianti miei ♪ ♪ Pur va quasi formando ♪ ♪ Un diluvio di specchi, in cui tu miri ♪ ♪ Dentro alle tue delizie ♪ ♪ I miei, i miei ♪ ♪ I miei ♪ ♪ Martiri ♪ ♪ Martiri ♪ ♪ Destin, destin, se stai lassú ♪ ♪ Giove ascoltami tu ♪ ♪ Se per punir Nerone ♪ ♪ Fulmini, fulmini, fulmini ♪ ♪ Fulmini, fulmini tu non hai ♪ ♪ D'impotenza t'accuso ♪ ♪ D'ingustizia t'incolpo ♪ ♪ Ahi ♪ ♪ Trapasso tropp'oltre ♪ ♪ E me ne pento ♪ ♪ Sopprimo e seppelisco ♪ ♪ In taciturne angoscie ♪ ♪ Il mio ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Tormento ♪ ♪ Tormento ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] It is my distinct pleasure to present the Lincoln Center Award to Emily D'Angelo.

[ Applause ] Announcer: Please welcome Juilliard graduate, Martin E. Segal Award winner, and Jazz at Lincoln Center favorite Aaron Diehl.

[ Cheers and applause ] Named for Lincoln Center's former chairman, the Martin E. Segal Award was established in 1987 to recognize young artists of exceptional accomplishment here at Lincoln Center.

That same year, Jazz at Lincoln Center debuted as a summer concert series.

And in 1991, the first Segal award for Jazz at Lincoln Center was presented to Kenny Washington.

I've had the honor of receiving this award back in 2004, the same year that Jazz at Lincoln Center opened its permanent home in Columbus Circle.

Today, Jazz at Lincoln Center is a home to the world's finest jazz musicians and to exciting new talent like Riley Mulherkar.

This young man came to Lincoln Center as a student at Juilliard.

And since then, he's become a fixture on campus and around the city.

He's worked with established artists like Dee Dee Bridgewater, Alan Cumming, and Lincoln Center's own Wynton Marsalis.

Riley's work with the next generation as artistic director for Jazz at Joye in Aiken proves not only his love for the music, but also his sense of responsibility to the great continuum that is jazz.

Let's hear more from Riley in his own words.

♪♪ Mulherkar: I think especially with jazz music, it's a music that's handed down from generation to generation, and it's also music that's quite young.

You have people who played in Buddy Bolden's band, who they say was the first jazz musician ever, who then were working with folks like Louis Armstrong.

And then from Louis Armstrong, you have folks who played with him who then taught the next generation, and I've spent time with that generation.

So that's only a handful of generations that this music has been passed down through, which really makes it feel like a personal calling and really gives a sense of the responsibility of what it means to take on a life of playing this music.

♪♪ Here to perform Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and joined by pianist Chris Pattishall, please welcome Riley Mulherkar.

[ Applause ] [ Chord playing on piano strings ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] It is my pleasure to present the 2020 Martin E. Segal Award to Riley Mulherkar.

[ Cheers and applause ] That it?

Yep.

Congratulations, man.

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome two-time Tony-nominated actress Laura Osnes.

[ Cheers and applause ] Hello.

[ Applause ] There are many ways to tell a story -- with song, with dance, and with my personal favorite, song and dance.

But what if your unique point of view defies conventional expression?

Our next recipient uses her experimental films to capture elusive topics like identity, race, and sexuality in ways that are surprising, elevating, and moving.

Adoma Owusu's work has been exhibited and celebrated worldwide, from the Centre Pompidou to the Berlinale, from Los Angeles to Ghana.

Here at Lincoln Center, she's been a vital part of many festivals and discussions, including the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, and the New York African Film Festival.

She was the featured artist of the 56th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, and her film "Kwaku Ananse" won the 2013 Africa Movie Academy Award.

And frankly, a list of her fellowships and grants would keep us here all night.

So it's no wonder that Film at Lincoln Center is excited to honor her, too.

Owusu: The beauty of working as an avant garde, experimental filmmaker is that there's really not a right or wrong way of making work.

You just sort of have to make it.

During the last decade, I've just sort of learned how to persevere and to sort of find a creative way to sort of insert myself in this tradition of African storytelling.

You know, I'm Ghanaian and American, so I like to weave these various different cultures in my film work.

The Lincoln Center Emerging Artists Award is a truly amazing experience for me, because it comes in perfect timing as I'm about to develop my first feature-length film.

New York City and Lincoln Center is like the melting pot of various different cultures coming together.

Not only is it, you know, a space where various different forms of arts collide, but it's a space where also you can sort of be invited to experience various different creative practices that can also inform your work.

It excites me to be in a space where it has this sort of openness.

It's a scary time, but it's also very exciting, because there's an unknown, but also a new territory where we can also explore.

And a lot of times when there's room for experimentation and room for play, new ideas start to emerge.

[ Rhythmic percussion, person singing indistinctly ] Osnes: Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to present the Lincoln Center Emerging Artists Award to Akosua Adoma Owusu.

[ Applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Announcer: Please welcome back Ali Ewoldt.

[ Applause ] When George Balanchine agreed to create a ballet company here in the United States, he famously said, "But first, a school."

He saw that the health of any ballet company depended on the training of young dancers who would one day fill the pointe shoes of the older generation.

And so the School of American Ballet was born.

Our second Martin E. Segal award recipient tonight, Ruby Lister, has been a student at that school since she attended a summer course in 2017.

The instructors were so impressed with the grace and intelligence of her dancing that they invited her to move to New York and attend the school year-round.

Here, she trained rigorously, created an original ballet, and kept up her musical skills by playing both piano and drums.

Oh, and she also goes to high school.

At a time when most of her peers back in Seattle are worrying about prom, she is making a new home and a new career for herself here in the greatest city in the world.

Lister: I never thought that I would be here.

It was already bizarre enough that I moved to New York City from Seattle, Washington.

Going to my dream school, School of American Ballet, it just was such an honor in itself, and I never thought that I would also be winning this award.

There's so much talent that it's so easy to just be inspired by just seeing the way they do a step or a combination, and not even to mention all of the other artists that live here, like the musicians and the composers.

And you'll just be walking around the hallway, and you hear music, and it just makes you want to move.

And it's so easy to find that here.

Where sometimes, you have to seek it out, it just -- It almost comes to you here in New York and in Lincoln Center.

♪♪ Now performing an excerpt from Balanchine's "Raymonda Variations" with music by Alexander Glazunov, please welcome Ruby Lister, accompanied by Alla Reznik.

[ Applause ] [ Piano playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Applause ] It is now my great honor to present the 2020 Martin E. Segal Award to Ruby Lister.

[ Applause ] Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back Harolyn Blackwell.

[ Applause ] Who gets to create art?

Whose voices can be heard?

And what kinds of stories are they allowed to tell?

Today's young artists continue to push through the constraints of those questions.

And when an artist pushes past what has been done and moves us into what can be done, the results can be astonishing.

So it is with our next award recipient.

Nominated by the New York Philharmonic, Ellen Reid is a composer who has devoted her career to innovation in opera, sound design, film scoring, ensemble, and choral writing.

In addition to premiering an original composition with the New York Philharmonic last week as part of their Project 19 series celebrating women composers, she serves as composer in residence for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

And in 2018, her opera "p r i s m" received the Pulitzer Prize.

Yes.

[ Laughter ] She also co-founded the Luna Composition Lab, a mentorship program for young female-identifying, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming composers, thus furthering her commitment to a more robust and more inclusive musical world.

I started writing when I was about 19, and I thought it would be something that would be very private for me.

And I was on a course to be an academic.

And then one of my professors heard something I wrote and said, "Girlfriend, this is way better than your papers, so you should really think about that."

You know, once he said that, I left the room and just started weeping and started to really pursue it as a path.

My new piece for The New York Phil premiered February 20th alongside the goddess Renée Fleming singing my idol Bjork.

Lincoln Center is a place that people from around the globe look to to see what is the trend?

What's the edge?

What is art?

Where is it going?

Who can make it?

Recognizing emerging artists is a huge gift, because it says that our voices are valid and that Lincoln Center recognizes that that's bridging a gap in a way.

There's this dialogue across time, which is what's really exciting.

And looking at the pieces that Lincoln Center has brought to life and how those have infected the art world, and then feeling like we're at the front of this new wave is so exciting.

And I have no idea where we're going, but I can't wait.

[ Laughs ] [ Chorus vocalizing ] I am thrilled to present the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists to Ellen Reid.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, Laura Osnes.

[ Chuckles ] [ Applause ] The intersection of past and future has always been at the heart of Lincoln Center's mandate.

This year, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is proud to recognize a young woman who exemplifies this magical convergence.

Jennifer Ashley Tepper's love of theater history led her to research and write three volumes of "The Untold Stories of Broadway."

And she's given several under-appreciated musicals a fresh eye through her Bistro Award-winning concert series, "Even If It Only Runs a Minute."

She is also destined to make theater history by serving as creative and programming director at Feinstein's/54 Below and producing new works like "Love In Hate Nation" and the Tony Award-nominated musical "Be More Chill," which just opened on the West End last week.

Her ambition and talent will take her far, but her appreciation for what has come before will always bring her back here to the Library.

Tepper: I am obsessed with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Since I was an NYU student, I've spent so much time there doing research.

I do this concert series called "If It Only Even Runs a Minute" that celebrates under-appreciated musicals, and I've done it for about 10 years.

And every single time we do an edition of that concert, I spend hours combing through the papers and tapes and photos of those shows at the Library.

The fact that New York City is filled with so much history and is also filled with so many amazing artists that are doing things right now inspires me on a daily basis.

And the way that those two things collide is why I could never work or live anywhere else.

Just the collision of, like, both past and present really inspires me.

[ Instrumental jazz music playing ] ♪♪ Just about the only thing Jennifer doesn't do is perform, so tonight, we're going to celebrate her with a musical number that was composed to mark the release of her esteemed books.

Here to sing the song he wrote for his good friend and joined by Will Roland, Molly Hager, and Harrison Chad, please welcome the one and only Joe Iconis.

[ Applause ] We're so honored to be here to be honoring our great friend and collaborator Jennifer Ashley Tepper.

And just a word about this song.

So, I wrote this song.

The song is about theaters and Broadway theaters, to be exact, and it's kind of about how theaters are more than just buildings but are actually -- can sometimes take on kind of human characteristics and are places that foster family and foster community, which is what Jennifer Ashley Tepper does so beautifully.

And so, you know, the song has a chorus, and the word remember, remember, repeats a lot.

And so if anyone in the audience feels so inclined and wants to sing along with this song, you should do it.

[ Piano playing ] [ Clears throat ] ♪♪ ♪ Alvin and Virginia were institutions ♪ ♪ Alvin and Virginia loved the fall ♪ ♪ They lived through epidemics and revolutions ♪ ♪ Yeah, Alvin and Virginia had seen it all ♪ ♪♪ ♪ They lived on 52nd, but not together ♪ ♪ They were friends but kind of competitive ♪ ♪ They both survived some seasons of dangerous weather ♪ ♪ And they taught me this lesson on how to live, they'd say ♪ ♪ "Remember, remember, things that now are gone ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, and carry 'em on ♪ ♪ Good buddy, remember, remember, the history ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, remember me" ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Alvin and Virginia were not too fancy ♪ ♪ Their tastes often alluded to days of yore ♪ ♪ They sometimes played it safe but were mostly chancy ♪ ♪ Yeah, they were real New Yorkers down to the core ♪ ♪ Their tolerance for tourists was always ample ♪ ♪ With an ever-growing capacity ♪ ♪ Yeah, Alvin and Virginia taught by example ♪ ♪ They didn't really speak, but they spoke to me, they'd say ♪ ♪ "Remember, remember, things that now are gone ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, and carry 'em on ♪ ♪ My brother, remember, remember, the history ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, remember me" ♪ ♪♪ ♪ And things in New York are temporary ♪ ♪ You can beg it to stop changing, but it won't ♪ ♪♪ ♪ People and places, names and faces ♪ ♪ Now you see 'em, now you don't ♪ ♪ I've always found that change comes in steps and stages ♪ ♪ Alvin left us first, then Virginia went ♪ ♪ And now they're just some words on Wikipedia pages ♪ ♪ And very few will understand how much they meant ♪ ♪ But every time I walk into a theater ♪ ♪ I think about the legacy and all who came before ♪ ♪ And that may sound lame or hokey ♪ ♪ But it feels like something sweeter ♪ ♪ It makes me want to join the legacy more and more ♪ ♪ Makes me remember, remember, things that now are gone ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, and carry 'em on ♪ ♪ Forever remember, remember, the history ♪ ♪ Remember, yeah, remember, remember me ♪ ♪ And remember, remember, the things you once admired ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, and get inspired ♪ ♪ Forever remember, remember, the history ♪ ♪ Remember, remember, remember me ♪ ♪ Yeah, remember, remember, remember me ♪ ♪ Yeah, remember, remember ♪ ♪ Remember me ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] It is my privilege to present the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artist to Jennifer Ashley Tepper!

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] [ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Announcer: Please welcome the chair of the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund, Steven R. Swartz.

[ Applause ] Good evening, and congratulations to these exceptional artists.

We also want to congratulate the family and the friends of these artists.

They couldn't have done it without you, so thank you for your support.

Clearly, the future of the performing arts on this campus couldn't be in surer hands.

I want to extend a special thanks to the chair of tonight's event, Ken Wise, for a job very well done.

Ken, thank you.

Over the past 50 years, the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund has raised close to $200 million, providing vital, unrestricted funds to this campus' 10 constituent organizations, allowing their extraordinary leadership teams to pursue the projects most meaningful to them.

Many of you in the audience tonight represent the companies who have so faithfully supported this effort over the years.

On behalf of our artists, educators, and everyone in the Lincoln Center community, thank you for your generosity.

You make a very big difference.

And now please welcome back to the stage Aaron Diehl.

[ Applause ] Chamber music is often called the music of friends.

You don't necessarily have to be a friendly person to perform in this intimate, specialized field, but it helps.

Sebastian Manz is honored tonight not only because of his incredible artistry, but also because of his remarkable character.

When he isn't playing clarinet with the Chamber Music Society, Sebastian brings his energetic style to some of the top orchestras in Europe -- the Camerata Salzburg, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and many others.

His soloing has earned him international acclaim, and his recording of the complete works of Carl Maria von Weber won an ECHO Classic award.

At the ARD International Music Competition in 2008, he took first prize in the clarinet category.

This is a prize that had not been awarded for 40 years.

For those of you that know Sebastian, it won't be surprising to hear that upon learning of his award to be given this evening, he asked that it be dedicated to the administrative staff of the Chamber Music Society for their tireless work.

It's that level of understanding and sensitivity that makes Sebastian Manz an artist we are so very proud to include as one of tonight's award recipients.

♪♪ In general, it's great for me to live in a time and in a society where I can share the art and music with interested people.

And then, there are some institutions like the Lincoln Center, who gives me the opportunity to advance my career here or to play a lot of chamber music concerts.

If you see all these other buildings around, the Met, David Geffen Hall, the ballet, everything, almost everything, is on that spot.

I can always come here.

I'm always welcome.

I feel like I'm home.

[ Jazzy clarinet music playing ] Here to perform "Introduction, Theme and Variations" by Rossini and accompanied by Misuzu Tanaka, please welcome Sebastian Manz.

[ Applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] I'm very happy to present this Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artist to Sebastian Manz.

[ Cheers and applause ] Thank you so much.

Thank you.

[ Applause continues ] Okay.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Announcer: Please welcome back Laura Osnes.

[ Applause ] Writers in the theater like to say, "If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage."

But a director could counter with, "If it ain't on the stage, it really ain't on the stage."

Lileana Blain-Cruz is someone who creates a new universe onstage every time she directs a piece.

And she is directing all the time, at the Guthrie, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, and many, many others.

Her continuing relationship with Lincoln Center Theater has already borne such exciting fruit as her production of "Pipeline" at The Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater which she received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for, the LCT3 production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "War," as well as her production of "Marys Seacole" at LCT3 that won her an Obie Award.

Her visions are bold, daring, and profoundly human, and we can't wait to see what she does next, whether it's here at Lincoln Center or elsewhere.

But we hope it's here at Lincoln Center.

Blain-Cruz: When I think about Lincoln Center, I think about that potential for awe, that potential for wonder, that potential for that experience of seeing something new for the first time, you know?

And that's magical to me.

I hope to give people that experience over and over again, that feeling of, "Where are we about to go?"

It's a huge honor to receive this award from Lincoln Center.

It's nice to be seen, particularly as a director, where a lot of the times, you're invisible.

You're sitting in the darkness.

So to be seen for that work, particularly work that is so ephemeral, feels really special.

It's also really nice to be around other artists, right, to think about, like, an award that celebrates artists across the field, you know?

And that's something special that Lincoln Center does.

It's like, you have dance.

You have music.

You have performance.

You have theater.

And like, right, those things should be interconnected and should have a home together.

And so it feels nice to be part of that.

You know, I think theater is one of the last spaces where we actually are forced to be present with each other.

And that's special.

That's special right now in this particular moment where we live, inundated by information, technology, advertisements.

Like, the actual act of being present with one another, continues to be an ever-giving inspiration for me.

♪♪ Osnes: It is now my great pleasure to present the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award to Lileana Blain-Cruz.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ Thank you so much.

♪♪ ♪♪ Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back Ali Ewoldt.

[ Applause ] As a dancer, telling a story through movement, whether it be the smallest hand gesture or an incredible triple pirouette, is truly a gift.

The sheer athleticism of the dancers that grace this campus always astounds me.

So the question is, with so much talent in the world, how can just one young dancer make an impact?

Well, if you're Unity Phelan, you've done just that.

Tonight, Unity is being recognized by the New York City Ballet because of the intelligence, vivacity, and spirit that she brings to every performance.

Since 2008, when Unity first came to Lincoln Center for a summer intensive at the School of American Ballet, she has been developing her unique gifts and creating bold interpretations that led her to being named as an apprentice in 2012 and promoted to soloist in 2017.

Since then, she's performed featured roles in ballets by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Justin Peck, and more.

She's even gone onto dance where few ballerinas dared to tread, in an action flick called "John Wick 3 -- Parabellum," starring Keanu Reeves.

[ Laughter ] Wherever she dances, her artistry and her sense of adventure truly set her apart.

Phelan: It's just so exciting to be recognized.

It's like a pat on the back from especially Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet, to say, "Keep going."

Like, "You're almost there."

My sister started ballet classes, and I had a lot of energy, so my parents put me in, as well.

And I found a true love for it when I actually came to the School of American Ballet, when I started working in Balanchine's style, because it was so jazzy and fun and different and, like, almost sillier, less serious.

And my love for it grows every day.

I love working with pianists, because everyone plays their score different way.

"The Nutcracker," which we perform 49 times, sounds different every night.

Especially when you're doing "The Sugar Plum Fairy," you have moments where you look at the conductor, and he looks back at you, and you...move together.

I love those moments, 'cause it's like an unspoken understanding and conversation with each other.

I think finding your own way and interpretation of doing any dance is what makes you stand out.

And that's what I aspire to do.

♪♪ Fresh from her performance across campus in a world premiere by Justin Peck, please welcome Unity Phelan.

[ Applause ] ♪♪ I thought you were gonna dance.

[ Laughs ] ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ Announcer: To present our final award of the evening, please welcome back Harolyn Blackwell.

[ Applause ] The Hunt Family Award, endowed by Lincoln Center board member David Hunt, who you heard from earlier, his wife, Alice, and his brother, Bruce, is given annually to an exceptional musician nominated by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to recognize and encourage their courageous work.

And it's that artistic courage that has brought our final recipient here tonight.

Tessa Lark plays the violin with style and vivacity that defy categorization.

Her classical technique is impeccable, but what makes her unique is the way she infuses her artistry with the spirit and pathos of her Kentucky bluegrass roots.

She takes risks, and those risks have paid off.

She received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and she was the winner of the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition.

Last year alone, she was featured on three different recordings, including her solo debut album called "Fantasy."

And later this year, she'll be debuting as part of the Lincoln Center's "Great Performance" series.

We're so glad to be able to honor her here tonight.

[ Violin music playing ] Lark: I'm just so inspired by all things music.

And it started from a folk place, and then my training was in classical, and I just didn't want to give any of it up.

I played the mandolin before I ever played the violin, so bluegrass was the first music that I learned.

Though Lincoln Center is so established, it's still listening to new pathways forward, and I think that's a great message to be sending to all musicians.

And it's very exciting for classical music, too.

I'm just so grateful that Lincoln Center is open to these new avenues.

♪♪ And now joined by composer and bassist Edgar Meyer and performing Edgar's "Concert Duo: Movement 4," please welcome Tessa Lark.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Wow.

[ Applause ] It is now my distinct pleasure to present the 2020 Hunt Family Award to Tessa Lark!

[ Laughs ] Brava!

Thank you so much.

[ Applause ] Thank you so much.

Bravi tutti.

What a wonderful evening this has been.

I'd like to recognize all of our honorees one last time.

You deserve another roaring round of applause.

Congratulations.

[ Cheers and applause ] On a personal note, as a member of the Lincoln Center Artist Committee, I want to thank each and every one of you in this theater for celebrating with us tonight.

Your presence here shows your deep love and commitment to the performing arts at Lincoln Center.

And when you look up here at this stage at these incredible talents, I'm sure you'll agree that the future of Lincoln Center and the future of the arts is very bright indeed.

Thank you.

[ Applause ] Thank you for coming tonight.

This concludes our awards presentation.

Thank you, and have a great night.

[ Applause ] [ Chris Pattishall and Riley Mulherkar's "Stardust" playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪