The standard of success for the Gifted Minority Scholarship Dinner has been a serious line-up of celebrities paying tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s gala included the world premier of an Irvin Mayfield original orchestral work commissioned by the university to celebrate the event.

Mayfield and his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra came to town on a decidedly wintery day in February but heated things up for their audience.

The university now owns the rights to the original entitled “His Eyes Were Watching God.” Mayfield said he thought about the piece for months before sitting down and writing it non-stop in 24 hours.

The concert was preceded by the traditional dinner where the new scholarship recipients are introduced. The scholarship fund, which originally supported one student, now funds 15 each year.

Clockwise from bottom left: Irvin Mayfield told the story behind his SU commissioned piece; Glen Burney and Natalia Carden, two of this year’s scholarship recipients, shared their stories while other scholarship recipients listened.