A successful contractor spends his entire professional life supporting the visual arts. Children in 20 Middle Tennessee counties get their first exposure to professional opera. More than 100 million viewers experience the inaugural Americana Music Festival on PBS. These are a mere three examples of the dynamic partnerships between Nashville’s private sector and arts community that were celebrated Tuesday at the third annual Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville Bowtie Awards held Tuesday.

Award winners and finalists were recognized before a sell-out crowd of more than 400 business, arts and community leaders at the Wildhorse Saloon. Connie Valentine, president and CEO of the council, oversaw the event.

The 2012 Bowtie Award winners and finalists represent four key areas of arts support and can be viewed here.  

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville today announced the finalists for the second annual ABC Music City Corporate Band Challenge. Preliminary rounds were held the week of March 28 at Tin Roof and judged based on musicianship, appearance, originality/music choice, crowd appeal and overall impression.

The finalists are:

• 1600 Division — Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
• Desk Jockeys — SESAC, Inc.
• Music Square Root — BMI
• Not to Scale — Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon
• Rumba — Conexion Americas
• The CIGNALS — CIGNA Government Services
• Three Day Weekend  — First Tennessee
• WINDFALL Profit$ — Flood , Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy

The finals will be held on Sunday, April 10 at 6 p.m. at The Wildhorse Saloon.