FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2003
CONTACT: Jette Englund
Office of University Relations
908-737-NEWS
Kean Affiliate Artist Sharon Roffman Plays at the
Kennedy Center Honors
Broadcast of awards ceremony to air
on CBS on December 26
UNION, N.J. – Kean University's affiliate artist in violin, Sharon Roffman, was invited
to play at the 26th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., on December 7, as a
surprise to one of the honorees, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, who was Roffman's teacher.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast on CBS on December 26, at 9 p.m.
"A small group of former students of the Perlman Music Program was invited to play for him as
a surprise," Roffman said. "We played one movement of Vivaldi's Summer conducted by
Pinkas Zuckerman, and Mr. Perlman was really surprised. He put his head in his hands
and gasped. It was really funny."
In addition to Perlman, also James Brown, Carol Burnett, Loretta Lynn, and Mike Nichols
were honored. The awards were given "for the extremely valuable contributions they have
made to the cultural life of our nation," said Kennedy Center Chairman James A. Johnson.
The artists were selected by the Board of Trustees of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
