Honoring and preserving the legacy of Duke Ellington
Photograph by Lia Chang
Martha Hill Dance
Lifetime Achievement Award 2025
Mercedes Ellington
Presented by Andre De Shields
Celebrating the Legacy of Duke Ellington
Sunday, September 28, 2025
2:00 PM 4:00 PM
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
A special tribute to legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington will take place at the Duke Ellington Statue. This free, outdoor event is presented by The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, in collaboration with the American Tap Dance Foundation.
The celebration will be co-hosted by Mercedes Ellington—granddaughter of Duke Ellington and Founder and Artistic Director of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts—and Tony Waag, Founding Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation.
The concert features The Duke Ellington Center Big Band, musical director Eli Yamin performing classic Ellington tunes and jazz favorites. Blending music, dance, and theatrical flair, the celebration will include tap dancers DeWitt Fleming Jr., AC Lincoln, Max Pollak, and Karen Callaway Williams; vocalists Marion Cowings, Nicholas King, Antoinette Montague, and Sharon Janda; plus stilt walker Mark Mindek and actor Miles Purinton.
Celebrate Ellington’s enduring legacy with an afternoon of swing, style, and rhythm.
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Preserving the Legacy of Duke Ellington
Considered one of America's greatest composers, arrangers, and bandleaders, with over 3,000 compositions attributed to him, Duke Ellington is a seminal figure in the history of American music. It is our honor to preserve his legacy through education, documentation, and performance.
“Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.”
— Duke Ellington