The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame is celebrating 25 years of honoring the state’s remarkable women and sharing their stories. This year they are counting among their honorees Vita West Muir, the Executive & Artistic Director of Litchfield Performing Arts Inc. (LPA). There was a statewide awards presentation in Hartford November 5 and will be a second one in Litchfield on December 15 honoring Muir in particular.
Muir began her working life with a degree in biology from Fordham University as a writer documenting the BioMedical Results of Apollo for NASA. She later freelanced for national magazines. She made the transition to arts presenter serendipitously when she moved her family into a large historic home in Litchfield and welcomed the community in for classical concerts in 1981. That effort became a not-for-profit in 1983.
Muir continues to develop all LPA’s programs. The earlier classical series played for 20 years in area venues and it featured artists like the Cleveland, Tokyo, and Emerson String Quartets. LPA ran many arts-in-education residencies, including Project Poetry Live! which served thousands of middle schoolers across Connecticut for 25 years and received a major US Department of Education award.
Vita Muir is the force behind the internationally acclaimed Litchfield Jazz Festival which she founded in 1996. It has presented superstars like Dave Brubeck, Roy Haynes, Ray Charles and Wayne Shorter and introduced exciting newcomers like Diana Krall, Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride. In 1997 Muir launched Litchfield Jazz Camp which now hosts 300 students for a month each summer at the Gunnery in Washington CT and provides need-based scholarships.
Muir has served on the Litchfield Board of Directors since its inception and on the boards of other Connecticut nonprofits. She has received many awards for her work, including the Governor’s Award for Culture and Tourism and awards from Chamber Music America, the National Endowment for the Arts, the first CultureMax Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Jazz Journalist’s Association Hero award, among others.
The Litchfield event set for December 15, 6:30P, at Litchfield Community Center features music by the beautiful and talented jazz bassist and vocalist Nicki Parrott. An Aussi by birth, Nicki first became well known for her 10-year stint with the Les Paul Trio. She continues to appear at major festivals and clubs worldwide. Jingle & Mingle will also include cameos by top Litchfield Jazz Campers. Dinner, as always when Litchfield’s foodies get together, will be a treat. Festivities start with a cocktail hour and end with dancing and big smiles on a lot of happy faces. Muir’s award will be presented by Sarah Smith Lubarsky, Executive Director of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.
Tickets are $85 and support Litchfield Jazz Camp. Space is limited (last year’s event sold out) so early reservations are advised. Call 860-361-6285 or order online HERE