Voza Rivers

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Voza Rivers is an American producer and co-producer of theater, film, music, and live events, born in Harlem, New York. Rivers’ work as a theater producer, music executive, event producer, and documentary filmmaker has been presented in the United States, Japan, South Africa, Togo, Nigeria, Cuba, Canada, and the United Kingdom.^[1]

Rivers is the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Harlem Arts Alliance, an arts service membership organization founded in 2001.^[2] He is the executive producer and founding member of the New Heritage Theatre Group, (NHTG) established in 1964, and executive producer and co-founder of IMPACT Repertory Theatre, the Oscar and GRAMMY-nominated youth and music division of New Heritage Theatre Group. Rivers serves as the First Vice President of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and the Co-Founder, Vice Chairman, and Executive Producer of HARLEM WEEK, which began in 1974 as a one-day tribute to Harlem and has evolved over 46 years to become a month-long celebration of the community's economic, political and cultural history.^[3] Rivers is the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Community Works, a nonprofit arts and education organization.^[4]

Career history[]

Rivers was President of NY Entertainment and Sports Advisors (ESA) when ESA served as business manager to Count Basie and the Basie Orchestra; two-time Tony nominee South African Playwright Mbongeni Ngema; Tony-winning actor Ben Harney (Dreamgirls); GRAMMY award-winning rock band, Living Colour; singer-songwriter Me’Shell NdegéOcello; and partner with Percy Sutton in Apollo Theater Artist Management.

The GRAMMY-nominated Rivers has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Apollo Records, President of PRG Records, President and Chief Executive Officer of Voz Entertainment Group, and President of Greenlight Films, a black-owned film company.

Rivers’ theatrical productions include a collaboration with Committed Artists South Africa, Duma Ndlovu and South African playwright Mbongeni Ngema to present the OBIE award-winning “Woza Albert!;” Tony-nominated South African play, “Asinamali!,” which was executive produced on Broadway by Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba, Paul Simon, Hamilton Fish, and others; the Tony and GRAMMY-nominated hit Broadway musical “Sarafina!;” and in partnership with Lincoln Center and The Brooklyn Academy of Music, “Township Fever.” These plays brought to light the political, social, and economic impact of apartheid in South Africa.^[5]

Awards and recognition[]

• 1984: Black Personality of the Month Voza Rivers, Anheuser-Busch/ Black American
• 1988: United Nations Medal for Peace for "Sarafina!"
• 1988: FEDAPT Award for GRAMMY and TONY nominated SARAFINA!, League of American Theatres and Producers
• 1988: St. George Associations Art and Culture Award for SARAFINA!, St. George Association
• 1989: 1989 Grammy Nomination for the "Sarafina!" Cast Album
• 1991: N Y 1 Television "New Yorker of the Week", NY 1 Television
• 1996: Ruth Whitehead Whaley Award, Association of Black Women Attorneys for Community Service
• 1998: Harlem Jazz & Music Festival Tiffany Award, Harlem Jazz and Music Festival
• 1999: WHO'S WHO of Professionals Honoree
• 2000: AUDELCO Outstanding Pioneer Award in Theater, Audience Development Committee, Inc
• 2000: New York Foundation for the Arts Union Square Award, New York Foundation of the Arts
• 2001: Culture Fest Theatre Award, Your Culture Counts: Voza Rivers, Culture Fest
• 2001: William Jefferson Clinton Salute to IMPACT Repertory Theatre
• 2001: Forces of Nature NIA Award
• 2001: John Hunter Memorial Humanitarian Award
• 2002: Harlem Health Community Service Award, Harlem Hospital Center
• 2002: Omega Psi Phi, Xi Phi chapter "Citizen of the Year" Award
• 2002: Kwanzaa Foundation Nguzo Saba Award for Creativity
• 2002: National Conference of Artists NCA NY Chapter Leadership Award
• 2003: Outstanding Achievement and Stalwart Commitment to the Arts, Delta Sigma Theta sorority
• 2003: Distinguished Humanitarian Award from the Samaritan Foundation
• 2003: HARLEM WEEK Kick Off Special Award, presented by Mayor Mike Bloomberg
• 2005: Arts Organizing Award, National Conference of Artists
• 2005: I AM Award, Oliver Black Production in Association with IAM and the Harlem Arts Alliance
• 2005: Black History Makers Arts Organizing Award, The National Conference of Artists New York
• 2006: Ellie Charles Award, African Voices Magazine
• 2006: Community Service Award, Harlem Business Alliance
• 2006: Vanguard Award, Black To Broadway
• 2006: Star Achiever Award, United Negro College Fund
• 2006: “The VIV” to IMPACT Repertory Theatre at the 35th Annual Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards
• 2007: Peace Award, Kobe International Harmony Eyes Festival
• 2007: Larry Leopn Hamlin Producers Award, National Black Theatre Festival
• 2008: Distinguished Community Service Award, E.Louise Richardson
• 2008: Mind Builders Creative Arts Center Cultural Legacy Award, Mind Builders Creative Arts Center
• 2009: One of the Most Influential New Yorkers in Arts and Culture, New York Daily News
• 2009: Cover Story, Black Masks Magazin'
• 2009: 45th Anniversary of NHTG Salute: Voza Rivers, Community Works and the DWYER Cultural Center
• 2012: The New York Coalition of Black Women Honor the Life and Accomplishments of Voza Rivers, The New York Coalition of Black Women
• 2012: Talladega College Alumni Association of Greater New York Honors Voza Rivers, College Alumni Association of Greater New York
• 2012: Leadership Award, The Children's Storefront Independent School in Harlem
• 2012: Mother Dovetta Wilson Leadership Award, The City of New York Office of the President Borough of Manhattan
• 2013: Roy Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award, NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch
• 2013: Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition presented by Honorable Charles B. Rangel, Member of Congress
• 2014: Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce on 40th Anniversary of HARLEM WEEK Award, Jazzmobile
• 2014: Winona Lee Fletcher Award, Black Theatre Network
• 2014: Honorable Charles B. Rangel of New York Congress Recognizes New Federal Theatre's 44th Anniversary Gala Honoring Legendary Producer Voza Rivers and New Heritage Theatre Group, Honorable Charles B. Rangel
• 2014: Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust Award, Honoring the Harlem Shakespeare Festival
• 2015: Trailblazer Award Presented to New Heritage Theatre Group, Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement
• 2015: Oliver Black Productions 1st Annual NEO Awards
• 2016: Tunde Samuel Award for Outstanding Community Excellence
• 2017: Catholic Charities Hall of Fame Honoree Lt. Joseph P Kennedy Memorial Center^[6]
• 2017: Salvation Army Harlem Temple Corps Honoree Awards
• 2018: National Jazz Museum in Harlem Outstanding Service and Achievement in the Arts
• 2019: Otto Rene Castillo Award for Political Theater^[7]
• 2020: Harlem Fine Arts Show Life Achievement Award^[8]
• 2020: Lifetime Achievement Award, AUDELCO, Audience Development Committee, Inc^[9]
• 2020: Ossie Davis Award in Recognition of Your Work as a Theater Producer and Documentary Filmmaker^[10]

References[]