Wilmington resident Tatiana Copeland, a well-known philanthropist and owner of a California vineyard, has been appointed to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees by another Delaware resident, President Joe Biden.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., serves as the country’s national cultural center and a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. It is made up of various government officials and individuals appointed directly by the President.
Members of the Board of Trustees help ensure the Kennedy Center presents world-class performing arts and maintains the Center’s role as a leader in national performing arts education policy and programs.
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“Access to the arts is a cause close to my heart,” said Copeland in a prepared statement.
She and her husband Gerret Copeland, a member of Delaware’s duPont family, have been committed to the arts in Delaware for many years, groups including the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Delaware Art Museum and the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. They also support arts festivals through their winery Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, California.
“I would love to continue inspiring and preserving the arts in Napa and in my home state of Delaware, and now across the nation in partnership with the White House,” said Copeland, a native of Germany, who has a special connection with music. The composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff was her mother’s uncle, and she was named after his daughter Tatiana.
The Copelands have crossed paths in Delaware with Biden over the years. This past May, Biden gave the couple honorary doctoral degrees in the field of humanities at a graduation ceremony at the University of Delaware, the president’s alma mater.
Tatiana Copeland also has had a long commitment to medical research and the welfare of animals, especially dogs, in Delaware.
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Copeland, a breast cancer survivor who received treatment at Christiana Care’s Helen Graham Cancer Center, opened the Tatiana Copeland Breast Cancer Center on Nov. 15. The Copelands also helped fund The Copeland Center for Animal Welfare in partnership with the Brandywine Valley SPCA that opened in October.
The Copelands have received countless awards for philanthropy in the state including the 2020 Josiah Marvel Cup Award bestowed by the Delaware Chamber of Commerce, the 2019 Delaware History Makers Award and the 2011 Order of the First State given by former Gov. Jack Markell.
Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com and follow her on Twitter @pattytalorico
