The Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame (FVAHF) recently announced its six newest inductees. The Class of 2018 includes Sterling (Stu) Ainsworth, benefactor; Bobbie Brown, visual arts-painting; Frank Catalano, performing arts-music; the late William LaBaron, visual arts-film producer; the late William Moulis, visual arts-murals; and the late LaVerne Newsome, performing arts-educator.
The Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 to give public recognition to artists associated with the Fox Valley by birth, education, residence, or service who have achieved national or international acclaim. The Class of 2018 banquet and inductee celebration will take place Friday, April 20 at the Villa Olivia Country Club in Bartlett. For tickets and more information, see foxvalleyarts.org.
The Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame was a dream of Lucille Halfvarson and other arts leaders which took tangible form during the millennium (2000) celebrations in Aurora.
The artists honored with induction every other year represent the visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, media arts and educator/curator/benefactors. Each must have served at least 20 years in his or her profession. A second objective of the FVAHF is to ensure a strong cultural legacy for future generations. Inductees are honored with engraved plaques that are displayed at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin. The founders of FVAHF are Joyce Dlugopolski, Jay Harriman, Mary Clark Ormond, Susan S. Starrett, and deceased members Lucille and Sten Halfvarson, G. Edward Nelson, Roger Parolini, and Charlotte and George Peichl.
• Sterling (Stu) Ainsworth, benefactor, has lived in the Fox Valley since 1978, first in Elgin and presently in St. Charles. He learned to play the piano and clarinet when young, and loves to sing, and his passion for the arts and arts education is made evident in his 39 years as an arts benefactor. He has been a major supporter to include Elgin Symphony Orchestra, (ESO) the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, (EYSO) Elgin Master Chorale, Soiree Lyrique, Chamber Music on the Fox, St. Charles Arts Council, St. Charles Cultural Commission, and Steel Beam Theatre. He is the lead sponsor of the Art in Public Places project in St. Charles.
• Bobbie Brown, visual arts-painting, has been a St. Charles resident since 1988. She is known nationally and internationally for her paintings, which are inspired by nature, and range from detailed realism to imaginative abstraction. Ms Brown achieved certification in Home Landscape Horticulture and Botanical Art and Illustration through the Morton Arboretum, and was an instructor there for 10 years.
• Frank Catalano, performing arts-music, began playing saxophone at age seven. By 18, he was touring with Santana and signed to Delmark Records to record his first solo album. While at Streamwood High School, won first place in the Illinois all-state jazz saxophone competition. He holds a B.A. in Music Composition from DePaul University. Mr. Catalano performed with the Elgin Community College Jazz Band as an ECC student in 1999, and was a saxophone instructor at College of Lake County, 2005-2012. He has played on three Grammy-winning, and 11 Grammy-nominated, recordings with artists including Jennifer Lopez, Destiny’s Child, and John Legend.
• William LaBaron, visual arts-film producer was born in Elgin in 1883. He was graduated from Elgin High School and attended the University of Chicago and New York University. A producer, songwriter, composer and author, he wrote a number of Broadway stage scores and libretti. More than 10 years of song-writing in New York City prepared him for writing the book and lyrics for 10 Broadway plays. Mr. LaBaron worked as the managing editor of Colliers Magazine, and then director general of Cosmopolitan Productions until 1924, In Hollywood, he began producing films.
• William Moulis, visual arts-murals, born in Chicago in 1919, was an accomplished artist from 1941 to 1989, known for his mural paintings, as well as oils, watercolors, gouaches and collages. He was commissioned to paint public and private murals in many cities in the United States and abroad. At the height of his career, he was sought as a muralist to establish the design style for notable hotels and restaurants in Chicago, New York and Hong Kong. While a student at the Art Institute of Chicago, he was commissioned by Kate Raftery, notable owner of The Little Traveler in Geneva, to paint murals in various rooms of the business. Following his service in World War II, Mr. Moulis moved into and worked for The Little Traveler, and he lived in Geneva until he died January 6, 1989.
• LaVerne Newsome, performing arts-educator, was a musician and educator who touched the lives of countless aspiring musicians. Born in Elgin October 21, 1907, “Mr. Newsome provided encouragement, guidance, hope, a sense of direction, and a sense of worth to me and countless black youths who were under his tutelage,” wrote a former student, professor David Baker. Mr. Newsome was graduated from Elgin High School and received a B.A. and M.A. in Music Education from Northwestern University. He taught at Alabama’s Talladega College until 1937 when he moved to Indianapolis. There he was orchestra director and music department chair at Crispus Attucks High School, the city’s first all-black high school.
— The Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame
