BROOKLYN — The Green-Wood Historic Fund announced Tuesday that five prominent Americans from the fields of art, academia, music and film have been named to a special selection committee that will choose a new “Angel of Music� sculpture to grace the gravesite of 19th century American composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk in Green-Wood Cemetery.

The panelists are:

* Arnold Lehman, director of the Brooklyn Museum

* Danny Simmons, Brooklyn abstract-expressionist painter, gallery owner, leader of poetry readings and newly appointed interim chair of the New York State Council of the Arts

* S. Frederick Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute; Research Professor, Johns Hopkins University; noted jazz musician and Gottschalk biographer

* Thayer Tolles, curator, Department of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum * John Turturro, Brooklyn-born actor, writer and director renowned for his performances in films including Barton Fink, Quiz Show, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Good Shepherd, and for his Emmy-award winning role in the television crime drama, Monk.

In July, five renowned sculptors were chosen to participate in a competition to recreate the almost five-foot tall angel that disappeared from Green-Wood under unknown circumstances more than 50 years ago. The initiative, Saved in Time: The Gottschalk Project, is administered by the Green-Wood Historic Fund, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that works to conserve and restore the cemetery’s endangered monuments.

Richard J. Moylan, president of Green-Wood Cemetery, said, “The esteemed members of this selection committee – all experts in their fields – understand and appreciate Green-Wood’s significance as a center of beauty and art. Their participation is also a testament to the importance of Louis Moreau Gottschalk in American music history.�

Existing 19th century photos of the Gottschalk monument show a white marble angel approximately 4-foot-10 in height. The angel’s left hand held a tablet bearing the titles of six of Gottschalk’s most famous compositions, while a heraldic trumpet was tucked beneath the arm. Her right hand was extended in a gesture suggestive of leading an orchestra. At her feet was a classical lyre.

A New Orleans native, Gottschalk was recognized as a child prodigy by the New Orleans middle-class establishment. In 1840, he debuted at the new St. Charles Hotel and by the 1860s had established himself as the foremost pianist in America. His most acclaimed works include A Night in the Tropics, Bamboula and Le Bananier.

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