National Medals Of The Arts Awarded

Playwright Edward Albee, band leader Lionel Hampton and the Boys Choir of Harlem are among the 12 recipients to be honored by President Clinton with the 1996 National Medal of the Arts.

The medalists were announced Tuesday by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Albee was also one of five who received the Kennedy Center honors last month. The Boys Choir will perform at the Kennedy Center Jan. 18, after receiving one of the medals next week. The president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will present the medals Jan. 9 at the 12th annual ceremony.

“Through these awards we commemorate the contributions of distinguished artists and scholars whose work reflects the strength and diversity of America’s cultural heritage,” Clinton said in a statement.

Other winners are: opera conductor Sarah Caldwell, photographer Harry Callahan, theater director Zelda Fischandler, composer Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero, dancer Bella Lewitzky, arts patron Vera List, actor Robert Redford, author Maurice Sendak and composer Stephen J. Sondheim.