Microsoft's Bill Gates, journalists David Brmkley and Walter 

 Cronkite, historians Stephen Ambrose and James McPherson, 

 and writers P.D. James and Pat Conroy. These programs were 

 also offered on the newly expanded TSA website. 



Young Benefactors 



The Smithsonian Young Benefactors entered its eighth year 

 this year, continuing its mission of raising unrestricted funds 

 for the Smithsonian Institution and increasing awareness 

 among young professionals of the goals and objectives of the 

 Institution. Among activities this year were "Mingle Among 

 the Moderns," a reception and tour of the National Museum 

 of American Art's collection of 20th-century American paint- 

 ing and sculpture, and the Eighth Annual Blast-Off Black- 

 Tie Gala at the National Air and Space Museum, which raised 

 more than $100,000. 



Affiliated Organizations 



The John F. Kennedy Center for rhe Performing Arts, the - 

 National Gallery of Art, and the Woodrow Wilson International 

 Center for Scholars were established by Congress within the 

 Smithsonian Instirution under their own boards of trustees. The 

 Institution provides administrative services on contract to Read- 

 ing Is Fundamental, Inc., an independent organization. 



John R Kennedy Center for the 

 Performing Arts 



James A. Johnson, Chairman 

 Laurence J. Wilker, President 



In April 1996 the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing 

 Arts marked its 25th anniversary as a presidential memorial 

 and one of the world's most celebrated performing arts 

 centers. The Kennedy Center presents the finest performances 

 of music, theater, and dance from this nation and abroad; 

 makes the performing arts available to the greatest possible 

 audience through free and discounted performances, as well as 

 other outreach programs; nurtures new works and supports ar- 

 tists through its producing, commissioning, and training 

 programs in a variety of disciplines; and serves the nation as a 

 leader in arts education. The Kennedy Center's six theaters 

 host performances that attract more than 2 million patrons an- 

 nually; the annual telecast of the Kennedy Center Honors and 

 other broadcasts reach millions more across the country; and 

 the center reaches out to the nation with touring productions 

 and performances. 



Kennedy Center Chairman James A. Johnson initiated a set 

 of programs in February 1997 designed to make the center, 

 and the performing arts in general, accessible to the broadest 

 possible audience. These "Performing Arts for Everyone" in- 

 itiatives include free performances every evening of the year 

 on the new Millennium Stage and the construction of a new 

 TICKETplace discount ticket booth, which opened to the 

 public in June in Washington's Old Post Office Pavilion. 



The first season of the Kennedy Center African Odyssey, a 

 multiyear celebration of the music, dance, and theater of Africa 

 and the African Diaspora, featured theater from South Africa, 

 music and dance from Cote d'lvoire, agriot storyteller from 

 Gambia, and exhibitions of stone sculpture from Zimbabwe and 

 textiles from throughout the African continent. Included were 

 the world premieres of two Kennedy Center dance commissions 

 and three ensembles making their American debuts. 



The Kennedy Center Concert Hall closed in January for 

 extensive renovations, with the goal of making the theater a 

 national model for public accommodation and accessibility 

 for people with disabilities. The Concert Hall, which 

 reopened just nine months later in October, was the first of 

 the center's theaters to undergo these improvements. Other 

 Kennedy Center theaters will follow in future years as part of 

 an ambitious calendar of construcrion. 



With its home theater under construction, the National 

 Symphony Orchestra (NSO) — in its first season under Music 

 Director Leonard Slatkin — performed innovative programs in 

 the center's other theaters. The NSO's fifth American Residency 

 took orchestra members to Arizona for more than a week of 

 performances, master classes, and educational activities in the 

 spring. In the fall the NSO held its inaugural Beethoven Fes- 

 tival, part of a revolution in programming that will surround 

 rhe regular concert schedule with thematic festivals spaced 

 throughout rhe year. During its firsr concert tour of Europe 

 under Slatkin's direction, the orchestra was greeted with criti- 

 cal and popular acclaim. 



The Kennedy Center coproduced the Broadway hit Titanic, 

 which earned the 1997 Tony Award for Best Musical. Mean- 

 while, the center's coproduction of The King and I. a 1996 Tony 

 winner, made its Washington debut at the center in the spring 

 before embarking on a nationwide tour. The center's "Imagina- 

 tion Celebration" commissioned two new works during 1996 — 

 97: an original play titled Children of the Sun from Pulitzer 

 Prize— winner N. Scott Momaday and an adaptation of Judy 

 Blume's popular children's book Tales of a Fourth Grade Noth- 

 ing. Tales will tour to communities nationwide during the 

 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 school years. 



In fall 1996 the Kennedy Center launched a national 

 program to include the arts in the curricula of every school 

 system across the United States. The "Creative Ticket for Stu- 

 dent Success" campaign, spearheaded by the center's Alliance 

 for Arts Education Network and its nationwide affiliates, 

 united organizations and individuals in encouraging 

 educators, parents, and elected officials to make the arts a 

 regular part of the life of every American child. 



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