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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release December 15, 1995

            PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES SPEIGHT JENKINS TO THE 
                     NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE ARTS

     The President today announced his intent to nominate Speight

Jenkins to the National Council on the Arts.

Speight Jenkins of Washington has been the General Director of the Seattle Opera since 1983, and is well known both nationally and internationally for his work. Prior to his current position, he was the host of the television series "Live from the Met" from 1981 to 1983 and was a music critic for The New York Post from 1973 to 1981. During his tenure at the Seattle Opera, he has produced War and Peace, The Ring of the Nibelung, Norma and Pelleas and Melisande, among others. Mr. Jenkins received his B.A. from the University of Texas and his LL.B. from Columbia University. He served in the United States Army for four years as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. In 1992, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Seattle University and an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Puget Sound.

The National Council on the Arts advises the Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (who also chairs the Council) on policies, programs and procedures for carrying out the agency's functions, duties and responsibilities; and reviews and makes recommendations to the Chair on applications for grants. The Council also recommends to the President individuals and organizations to receive the National Medal of Arts for outstanding contributions to the arts in America.

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