 Steve Martin |
 Diana Ross |
 Leon Fleisher |
 Martin Scorsese |
 Brian Wilson |
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Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross,
Martin Scorsese and Brian Wilson
to Receive 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors
America to Celebrate Five Extraordinary Artists on Sunday, December 2, 2007
Gala will be broadcast on CBS on Wed., Dec. 26 at 9pm (EST)
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces its selection of individuals to receive the Kennedy Center Honors Award for 2007. Recipients to be honored at the 30th annual national celebration of the arts are: pianist Leon Fleisher, actor and writer Steve Martin, singer Diana Ross, film director Martin Scorsese, and songwriter Brian Wilson.
"With their extraordinary talent, creativity, and perseverance, the five 2007 Honorees have transformed the way we, as Americans, see, hear, and feel the performing arts. We will forever be thankful for the great gift they have shared with us," said Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman. "Leon Fleisher is a consummate musician whose career is a moving testament to the life-affirming power of art; Steve Martin is a Renaissance comic whose talents wipe out the boundaries between artistic disciplines; Diana Ross's singular, instantly recognizable voice has spread romance and joy throughout the world; Martin Scorsese is a visionary filmmaker and a fearless artist; and Brian Wilson led not only a spectacularly popular rock group but also an era-defining transformation of the sound of music."
The annual Honors Gala is the highlight of the Washington cultural year, and its broadcast on CBS is the zenith of the nation's television season. Seated with the President of the United States and First Lady Laura Bush, the Honorees will accept the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes. On Sunday, December 2, in a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, the 2007 Honorees will be saluted by great performers from Hollywood and the arts capitals of the world. Produced by George Stevens Jr., the Honors Gala will be recorded for broadcast on the CBS Network on Wednesday, December 26 at 9pm (EST) for the 30th consecutive year as a two-hour prime time special.
Honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime of contributions to American culture through the performing arts - whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television - each is selected by the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; nevertheless, the selection process, has achieved a balance between the artistic disciplines over the years.
Members of the Kennedy Center's national artists committee, as well as past Honorees, made recommendations of possible Honorees. Among the artists making recommendations were: Emanuel Ax, Dan Aykroyd, Jon Robin Baitz, Dave Brubeck, Kenny Chesney, Francis Ford Coppola, Melissa Etheridge, Laurence Fishburne, Renee Fleming, Anjelica Huston, India. Arie, Evgeny Kissin, Rob Marshall, Peter Martins, Terrence McNally, Helen Mirren, Anna Netrebko, Christopher Plummer, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Previous Kennedy Center Honorees Edward Albee, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Sean Connery, Bill Cosby, Kirk Douglas, Elton John, Mike Nichols, Smokey Robinson and Steven Spielberg also made nominations.
Michael M. Kaiser, President of the Center, expressed the national cultural center's gratitude to the many individuals involved in the success of the Honors program. "In addition to recognizing our most treasured artists, the Kennedy Center Honors also supports many of our performing arts initiatives, education and public service programming, and national outreach efforts."
The Boeing Company is the Exclusive Underwriter of the
Kennedy Center Honors Gala Supper.
2700 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20566
Tickets and Information: 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600