NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER AWARDS TO FRANKENTHALER, CUNNINGHAM, THREE OTHERS

On Monday night, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Awards were presented by Purchase College to artist Helen Frankenthaler, choreographer Merce Cunningham, opera singer Jessye Norman, theater-set designer Ming Cho Lee, and arts philanthropist and environmentalist Douglas Durst and the Dust Organization. The honorees are being recognized in the fields of music, dance, theater arts and film, and art and design, which correspond to the four professional training programs within the School of the Arts at Purchase College, and in the field of environmental responsibility, which was a favorite cause of Governor Rockefeller. The event also marked the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the college, and the funds raised by the gala will be used to provide opportunities for students and to support the production costs of nearly two hundred performances presented by the students in the region.