A world-renowned art facility that sits on 17 acres of land overlooking the Potomac River, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents more than 2,000 performances a year, including a variety of theater, dance, music, and multi-media programs. The events attract almost 2 million visitors annually. The Center also takes some of the shows on the road. In addition, it offers several artistic learning experiences tailored specifically for young people, including open rehearsals, competitions, and music and dance study residencies.
The creation of an arts center in Washington D.C. had been a dream of many for nearly two centuries when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1958 that established a National Cultural Center in the District of Columbia. The National Cultural Center Act authorized its construction, and mandated it to present a wide variety of classical and contemporary performances and carry out an educational mission as an independent, self-sustaining, private funded facility. Fundraising for the Center began shortly after the bill was passed, with John F. Kennedy, a life-long advocate of the arts, significantly involved in calling attention to the project and its funding needs in a variety of ways when he became President, including naming his wife and Mrs. Eisenhower honorary chairwomen of the fundraising campaign. Two months after the assassination of President Kennedy, Congress designated the National Cultural Center a ”living memorial” to him, and authorized $23 million to help build the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. President Lyndon Johnson signed the John F. Kennedy Center Act on January 23, 1964, and on December 2, 1964 shoveled the first dirt at the site, with the same gold-plated spade that had been used in the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Lincoln Memorial in 1914 and the Jefferson Memorial in 1938. After legal hagglings over the Center’s precise site location and various other topics were ironed out, construction got underway in 1967, with $34.5 million in private contributions, $23 million in federal matching funds, and $20.4 million in long-term revenue bonds held by the U.S. Department of Treasury. On September 8, 1971, the Center opened to the public, with a gala performance featuring the world premiere of a requiem mass honoring President Kennedy, commissioned from Leonard Bernstein.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts houses nine stages, five public galleries, two public restaurants, and nine special event rooms. It puts on a variety of shows, including many Broadway hits and Tony Award-winning theatrical productions, and also develops premiere works through its Fund for New American Plays, three of which have gone on to win Pulitzer Prizes: “Angels in America” by Tony Kushner; “The Heidi Chronicles” by Wendy Wasserstein; and “The Kentucky Cycle” by Robert Schenkkan. The Center also commissions world premiere performances of new ballet and dance programs, and has its own ensemble, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. In addition, it co-produces new operas and brings international opera companies to the United States. The National Symphony Orchestra, the Center’s affiliate since 1987, also commissions dozens of new works and concerts, while the American Residencies for the Kennedy Center is a program that sends the National Symphony Orchestra to different states each year to perform and teach. The Center also presents performances of chamber music, folk music, popular music, and jazz. In addition, it puts on annual festivals that celebrate cities, countries and regions of the world. It also offers hundreds of free performances, including an Open House Arts Festival every September, to celebrate its birthday, and daily concerts of seasonal music in December. In addition, 365 days a year at 6 pm there are free Millenium Stage performances by talent from across the country, that can also be seen live on the Kennedy Center’s website, or at a later date via its digitalized archives. On network television, The Kennedy Center Honors are aired every year, while Public TV broadcasts additional Kennedy Center shows, as does National Public Radio. The Center also offers touring productions, many of which originate as newly commissioned projects at the Center before heading out on tour in subsequent seasons. In addition, the Center provides a wide range of educational opportunities for young people, alongside the many children’s theater presentations it produces, including giving backstage learning tours; sponsoring two annual dance residencies, one in ballet and one in partnership with the Dance Theater of Harlem; holding yearly multicultural book festivals, in which books come to life in readings and other interactive performances; hosting the American College Theater Festival competition; and offering internships and awarding fellowships.
From the Website of the Kennedy Center
Virtual Tour
Recent concerns have been raised on a couple of fronts regarding The Blackstone Group, of which Schwarzman is the CEO and Chairman. One issue revolves around The Blackstone Group owning 80% of the power producer, Sithe Global, which is aiming to build the 1,500 megawatt plant Desert Rock on land governed by the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, and the 750 megawatt plant Toquop in Nevada, both of which are opposed by many parties, including the Sierra Club, the National Resources Defense Council, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (Desert Rock), and Nevada Senator Harry Reid (Toquop). The other major topic of concern surrounding The Blackstone Group is the idea that it has seemingly found a way to avoid paying taxes on funds it raised while selling shares to the public.
The Golden Ass: How Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman's antics may cost him and his colleagues billions of dollars.
(by Daniel Gross, Slate)
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Founded: 1958
Annual Budget: $33.3 million
Employees: 55
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John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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Schwarzman, Stephen
Previous Chairman
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Stephen Schwarzman, began his position as chariman of the Kennedy Center in May 2004. He received a BA in Intensive Culture and Behavior in 1969, from Yale, where he was a member of Skull and Bones with President George W. Bush, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, in 1972. He began his career at Lehman Brothers, and in 1978 was elected Managing Director. He was also Chairman of the Mergers & Acquistions Committee at Lehman Brothers from 1983 to 1984. In 1985 he co-founded The Blackstone Group, where he is currently Chairman and CEO. His income from Blackstone in 2007 was $350 million. He also received $4,7 billion when Balckstone went public. Schwarzman is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; on the board of the New York City Ballet, New York City Partnership, New York Public Library, and Film Society of Lincoln Center. In addition, he has been an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Management.
Schwarzman is a longtime contributor to both political parties. His contributions to Republicans include: The presidential campaigns of George Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, and the Senate campaigns of Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole, Rick Lazlo, Mel Martinez, Pat Roberts, Arlen Spector, Ted Stevens, and John Sununu. He has also given to the Republican National Committee. Democrats he has favored with contributions include: for president, Bill Clinton; for Senate, Erskine Bowles, Barbara Boxer, Jon Corzine, Tom Daschle, Frank Lautenberg, Jay Rockefeller, Charles Schumer; for Congress, Jane Harman, Patrick Kennedy, and Charles Rangel.
Schwarzman also gave $10 million to the Kennedy Center’s Theater program.
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