Theresa Harper Bruno Receives Jonnie Dee Riley Little Lifetime Achievement Award

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alabama State Council on the Arts awarded Theresa Harper Bruno the Jonnie Dee Riley Little Lifetime Achievement Award for her leadership, service and support of the arts in Alabama. The award was given at the Celebration of the Arts awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 20, 2015, at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery.

The Jonnie Dee Riley Little Lifetime Achievement Award named after the late Jonnie Dee Riley Little represents recognition for an individual who has devoted significant contributions to the arts in Alabama. Theresa Bruno, a Juilliard-trained musician, has spent her life immersed in the arts. When her career as a concert pianist came to an abrupt halt, she directed her creative energies into helping others benefit from the arts.

Bruno has served as chair of the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center at UAB, one of the Southeast's premier cultural venues. Bruno has led the Alys Stephens Center through a major reorganization, working to strengthen its focus on excellence in arts programming. The Center presents world-renowned artists in music, dance, theatre, and comedy. Under her leadership, the Alys Stephens Center established ArtPlay, an arts education and outreach initiative. Through ArtPlay, K-12 students across central Alabama have the opportunity to learn from world-class artists and see live performances. Altogether, more than 70,000 Alabama children, and adults, have benefited from ArtPlay's workshops, classes, residencies, master classes, school shows and other activities.

Bruno has also taken the arts into another transformational space--the hospital--with UAB's Institute for Arts in Medicine (AIM), which places artists-in-residence throughout UAB Hospital to provide creative experiences designed to help patients heal. Theresa Bruno has indeed made a significant impact on the arts in Birmingham and Alabama.

Aside from her leadership in supporting and promoting the arts, Bruno is also an accomplished artist. As President and Designer for Jordan Alexander Jewelry, she creates beautiful and everyday-wearable fine jewelry that represents her own free-spirited style.

Since the Jordan Alexander collection's debut in late 2010, the line has been featured on the covers of Glamour, O Magazine and jewelry industry leader JCK Magazine. Celebrities, prominent figures and media personalities have taken to the line, including First Lady Michelle Obama, Pink, Katie Couric, Joan Rivers, Julia Roberts, Miranda Lambert, Brooklyn Decker, Kristen Stewart and more.

To view her latest creations, visit jordanalexanderjewelry.com.

SOURCE Jordan Alexander Jewelry