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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced that soprano Janai Brugger is the 2016 winner of the Marian Anderson Vocal Award. The Award, which honors trailblazing contralto Marian Anderson’s personal and humanitarian achievements, celebrates excellence in performance by recognizing a young American singer who has achieved initial professional success in the vocal arts and who exhibits promise for a significant career. In addition to receiving a $10,000 cash prize, Ms. Brugger will perform a recital on Thursday, September 8, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Family Theater and will establish an educational residency at the opera workshop program of Washington’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

“I am so excited to win this prestigious award and to join the ranks of so many past winners who continue to inspire me,” said Ms. Brugger. “I can’t wait to work with the students at Duke Ellington and to share with them how Marian Anderson’s enduring legacy continues to shape my career and my life.”

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