The Lifetime Achievement Award is conferred upon a Tennessee teacher whose life’s work is widely acknowledged to have positively influenced the role of the arts in education, thereby benefiting the students of Tennessee’s schools.

The Lorin Hollander Award is given to a Tennessean whose influence has benefited arts education in general and/or the Tennessee Arts Academy in particular. This award is named in honor of internationally renowned concert pianist Lorin Hollander, a special friend of the Academy.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to an American whose work stands as a monument to the importance of the arts in the lives of all people.

The Spirit of Tennessee Award recognizes an individual or group whose work exemplifies the highest standards of artistic endeavor and brings positive recognition to the place of the arts in the lives of Tennesseans.

The Partner in the Arts Award honors an individual or business whose generosity and support have contributed in sustained and significant ways to the success of the Tennessee Arts Academy's mission.

Lifetime Achievement Award
1995 Joseph Edward Hodges, Crossville
1996 Freda Kenner, Bells
1996 Sue Blass, Jackson
1997 Elizabeth Rike, Knoxville
1997 Celia Bachelder, Kingsport
1998 James Charles Mills, Johnson City
1998 Gene Crain, Memphis
1999 Patricia Brown, Knoxville
2000 Robert Pletcher, Nashville
2000 Kathy Hawk, Kingsport
2001 Tommie Pardue, Memphis
2001 Tully Daniel, Memphis (awarded posthumously)
2004 Marilyn DuBrisk, Greeneville
2004 Bobby Jean Frost, Nashville
2005 Nancy Boone-Allsbrook, Murfreesboro
2005 Sally Crain Jager, Cookeville
2006 Michael Combs, Knoxville
2006 Jean R. Thomas, Chattanooga
2006 Mitchell Van Metre, Knoxville
2007 David Logan, Johnson City

Lorin Hollander Award
1994 Cavit Cheshier, education executive
1995 Steven Cohen, state senator
1996 Nellie McNeil, teacher and advocate
1997 Tom L. Naylor, music educator and administrator
1998 T. Earl Hinton, music educator
1999 Jane Walters, educator and arts advocate
2000 Martha McCrory, music educator
2001 Solie Fott, music educator
2008 Jeanette Crosswhite, arts education administrator

Distinguished Service Award
1994 Charles Strouse, Broadway composer
1995 Charles Fowler, arts educator, writer and advocate
1996 Jerome Lawrence, playwright
1997 Lorin Hollander, concert pianist and philosopher
2000 Scott Ellis, Broadway theatre director
2000 Mary Costa, opera singer
2001 Sheldon Harnick, Broadway composer
2001 Tina Packer, Shakespeare actor and director
2003 Bob McGrath, singer and host of Sesame Street
2005 John Simon, author and arts critic
2005 Dean Pitchford, songwriter, lyricist, screenwriter, and director
2006 Andre Thomas, choral conductor
2007 Joe Dipietro, Broadway playwright and lyricist
2008 Henry Krieger, Broadway composer

Spirit of Tennessee Award
2000 Wilma Dykeman, writer
2001 Jim Crabtree, theatre director and writer
2002 Alice Swanson, arts education administrator and advocate
2003 George Mabry, choral conductor
2006 Dolph Smith, visual artist
2009 George S. Clinton, Hollywood film composer
2009 Jackie Nichols, theatre administrator
2009 Michael Stern, symphony conductor

Partner in the Arts Award
2008 Steve Spiegel, president of Theatrical Rights Worldwide