Rosanne Cash Recipient of the 61st Edward MacDowell Medal

August 8, 2021

Support Medal Day

Composer and performer Rosanne Cash became the 61st Edward MacDowell Medal recipient during a New Hampshire PBS televised special that premiered on Medal Day, Sunday, August 8, 2021. Newly appointed Board of Directors Chair Nell Painter awarded Cash the Medal, which has been granted annually since 1960 to an individual artist who has made an outstanding contribution to their field.

The special 30-minute co-production with NHPBS offers viewers a front row seat to MacDowell’s Medal Day and extends the unique opportunity to see MacDowell through Rosanne Cash’s eyes. Scroll down to watch the full TV program and read Cash's full acceptance speech for the Medal, along with a speech about her contributions to American culture by author and Medal Day ceremony speaker Kurt Andersen, and remarks from MacDowell Executive Director Philip Himberg, MacDowell Board Chair Nell Painter, and poet and MacDowell Fellow Cheryl Savageau, who provided an Indigenous land acknowledgment.

Cash was the first woman to win the Medal in composition, working in Americana, rock, blues, folk, and pop, influencing American culture across musical genres. She joins an august group of other MacDowell Medal winners such as Thornton Wilder (1960), Georgia O’Keeffe (1972), Louise Bourgeois (1990), Toni Morrison (2016), and composers Aaron Copland (1961), David Diamond (1991), Sonny Rollins (2010), and Stephen Sondheim (2013).

Portrait of Roseanne Cash. One of her hands rests on her should and she looks directly into the camera.

(Michael Lavine photo)

Watch the Full Program

"Rosanne Cash at MacDowell"

Scenes from 2021 Medal Day

Roseanne Cash smiles, looking back at the camera, while on studio tours

2021 Edward MacDowell Medalist Rosanne Cash. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with folks during studio tours. A camera crew captures the moment

Madam Chairman of the Board Nell Painter greets Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal, Rosanne’s husband and sometimes producer, as the NHPBS camera crew captures the moment. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash and John Leventhal embracing and smiling for the camera

Rosanne and John share a close moment before touring artist studios at MacDowell. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

Rosanne asks a question of visual artists and collaborators Angela Dufresne and Mala Iqbal on camera. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

Dufresne and Iqbal explain their process to the composer and Medalist. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

Dufresne’s animated discussion is caught on camera by NHPBS in Firth Studio. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

Painter Gina Ruggeri shows Rosanne Cash her recent works inside Eastman Studio. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

In answer to a question from 61st MacDowell Medalist Rosanne Cash, Ruggeri explains her use of color. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

At Putnam Studio printmaker Fanny Allié displays work on fabric for Cash. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

A detail of a print captivates Cash and Allié explains her approach. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

Rosanne Cash tries her hand at making a print on fabric using the manual press. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash talking with Fellows and admiring their work during studio tours

Poet Rone Shavers and the Medalist discuss his unique approach to writing. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash sitting on a porch and having a conversation with a Fellow during studio tours

Cash and Shavers talk writing on the porch at Barnard Studio before the cameras. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roz Chast, David Macy and Roseanne Cash pose together in the library

Cartoonist Roz Chast, Resident Director David Macy, and Medalist Rosanne Cash tour the James Baldwin Library before an interview between Chast and Cash. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roz Chast and Roseanne Cash have a quick conversation with Phillip Himberg before beginning the Library Talk

Executive Director Philip Himberg checks in with Cash and Chast before the cameras roll. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

A crowd gathers and sits in rows of chairs inside of Savidge Library waiting for the event to begin

Philip introduces Cash and Chast to begin the interview in Old Savidge before an intimate crowd and the NHPBS camera crew. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roz Chast and Roseanne Cash sitting in chairs at the front of the room during the Library Talk

Roz Chast (left) and Rosanne Cash listen to an audience member’s question. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roz Chast and Roseanne Cash sitting in armchairs at the front of the room during the Library Talk

Chast asked Cash what the road to becoming a songwriter and performer was like. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Medal Day VIPs gather together in a small group for a photo. The first row is sitting on a bench, the others are gathered behind them

(From left, seated) Medalist Rosanne Cash, Executive Director Philip Himberg, and singer songwriter Emmylou Harris. (From left, standing) Poet and Fellow Cheryl Savageau, Producer and multi-instrumentalist John Leventhal, Resident Director David Macy, MacDowell Chair Nell Painter, introductory speaker Kurt Andersen, and cartoonist Roz Chast. (Brie Morrissey photo)

Three acoustic guitars sit on their stands in front of a large fireplace awaiting soundcheck

Before the ceremony, the six strings of John Leventhal, Rosanne Cash, and Emmylou Harris are tuned and ready for the sound check. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash, John Leventhal and Emmylou Harris sitting together on a bench, smiling warmly

Medalist Rosanne Cash, musician and producer (and Cash’s husband) John Leventhal, and performer Emmylou Harris take a moment before the ceremony. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Medal Day VIPs gather together in a small group for a photo in front of the stone facade of Savidge Library

Ceremony participants and the medalist party gather outside the James Baldwin Library before the Medal ceremony. (Brie Morrissey photo)

Phillip Himberg speaks at the podium on stage. Nell Painter and Roseanne Cash sit in chairs behind him.

MacDowell Executive Director Philip Himberg opens proceedings before the Medal Day crowd inside the main hall. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Cheryl speaking at a podium during the Medal Day ceremony. Nell Painter and Roseanne Cash and Phillip Himberg sit in chairs behind her

Poet and MacDowell Fellow Cheryl Savageau offered a land acknowledgement before the ceremony, noting that MacDowell sits on land historically occupied by the Abenaki peoples. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Overhead shot of audience and speakers inside Bond Hall

Madam Chairman of the Board, writer and visual artist Nell Painter offers a welcome address to the gathering in MacDowell’s main hall. (Brie Morrissey photo)

Presenters give speeches on stage during the Medal Day Ceremony. One man speaks at a podium while the others sit in a row behind him.

Introductory speaker and author Kurt Andersen made a heart-warming and yet humorous introduction to Rosanne Cash, highlighting her many accomplishments. (Christian Holland photo)

Nell Painter presents Roseanne Cash with Edward MacDowell Medal on stage in Bond Hall

MacDowell Chair Nell Painter shows the MacDowell Medal to the gathering. (Brie Morrissey photo)

Nell Painter presents Roseanne Cash with Edward MacDowell Medal on stage

Nell Painter presents the 61st Edward MacDowell Medal to Rosanne Cash. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash accepts her Medal with a speech. She stands at a podium and smiles brightly

Cash said artists were in a service industry in her acceptance speech — “the premier service industry for the heart and soul. We are bound by an imperative to create, connect, reveal, and to practice artful subversion.” (Brie Morrissey photo)

Audience applauds performers in Bond Hall

The crowd applauds Rosanne Cash’s emotional address. (Christian Holland photo)

Emmylou Harris performs on stage in Bond Hall. She sings and plays the acoustic guitar,

Emmylou Harris introduces Cash’s “Black Cadillac.” (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

John Leventhal and Emmylou Harris perform on stage in Bond Hall. They are both playing the acoustic guitar.

John Levanthal accompanies Emmylou Harris during her rendition of a song she said was essential to the Rosanne Cash oeuvre. (Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash performs on stage in Bond Hall. She is playing the acoustic guitar and singing

Rosanne chose a newer song, “The Undiscovered Country” from She Remembers Everything, to perform to cap the ceremony. (Brie Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash performs on stage in Bond Hall with her husband John Leventhal. They are both playing the acoustic guitar. A crowd is seated in chairs in front of them.

Performing with husband John Leventhal, Cash’s song addresses the #MeToo movement. (Brie Morrissey photo)

Roseanne Cash performs on stage with her husband John Leventhal. They are both playing the acoustic guitar.

A rousing end to the Medal Day ceremony was marked by Cash’s and Leventhal’s stirring performance. (Christian Holland photo)

Cash was chosen by a selection committee chaired by longtime music journalist, author, and critic Greil Marcus. Joining him on the selection panel were American music critic and arts administrator John Rockwell, musicologist, author, and professor Mary E. Davis, Yale University professor and cultural critic Daphne Brooks, and MacDowell Board member and WQXR radio host Terrance McKnight.

Listen to the recorded broadcast of the August 9, 2020, episode of NHPR’s The Folk Show when Cash and McKnight joined host Kate McNally on for a conversation about Cash’s career spanning several musical genres, her musical inspirations, and the Edward MacDowell Medal.

To learn more about this event or to become a sponsor to keep the annual MacDowell Medal Day free and open to the public, please contact Brett Evan Solomon or call 410-790-2140.

Join the conversation online with #MacDowellMedal.

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About the Edward MacDowell Medal

The Edward MacDowell Medal has been awarded annually since 1960 to an individual artist who has made an outstanding contribution to their field. These artists include Leonard Bernstein, John Updike, Georgia O'Keeffe, I.M. Pei, Stephen Sondheim, and Toni Morrison. The artistic discipline in which the award is given rotates in order to celebrate all of the creative fields practiced at MacDowell. Following the ceremony, visitors enjoy a picnic lunch and tour open studios. Both the award ceremony and the open studios are free, and open to the public.

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