Mayor Michael Nutter announced today that the critically acclaimed poet, actress, director, and cultural icon Dr. Maya Angelou and the distinguished television pioneer, producer, activist, and visionary Norman Lear will receive the 2008 Marian Anderson Award. The Awards will be conferred at a Gala Tribute Concert produced in partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra on Monday, November 17, 2008, at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

The Philadelphia Orchestra brings free Neighborhood Concerts to Cabrini College in Radnor, PA (June 27, 7:00 p.m.), and to the Gordon Theater at Rutgers-Camden in Camden, NJ (July 25, 7:00 p.m.), as part of its annual series of outdoor Neighborhood Concerts. Location and details of the third concert in the series will be announced this summer.

The Philadelphia Orchestra once again brings selections of favorite symphonic works to Verizon Hall with a series of “Best of …” concerts. This summer the Orchestra celebrates the music of Eastern Europe (“Czech Mix,” June 24), Russia (“From Russia with Love,” June 25), and America (“American Postcards,” June 26).

The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates summer with nine concerts at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The Orchestra’s 2008 Summer Series at the Mann features well-known star performers and rising talents performing a wide variety of classic favorites. The series runs June 30-July 2, July 17-18, and July 21-24, 2008.