Feature: THE 18TH ANNUAL COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS HALL OF FAME GALA TO HONOR ILLUIMANTARIES at THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS.

The 18th Annual College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame will honor iconic musician and performer Paul Anka, legendary songstress Dionne Warwick, and prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory. The gala celebration will be held in the Ballroom in the UNLV Student Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Apr. 5.

Also being inducted is actor and educator Michael Tylo (posthumously). Musical artist and educator Dave Loeb, artist and activist Fawn Douglas, and trumpeter and jazz musician Kenny Rampton will be honored with the Koep Dean's Medal. In addition, the founder of Artists for Africa, Cooper Rust, will be recognized as Alumnus of the Year.

The Hall of Fame was founded in 2003 to honor those who have made a significant impact in performing art, visual arts, and architecture in Southern Nevada.

Paul Anka is celebrating 65 years in the entertainment industry with a recent show at The Smith Center, Anka Sings Sinatra. He will be releasing a new album coming out this summer, Making Memories! Performing on the stages of Las Vegas since the 1960s, he shares his hits and his love for the city.

Dionne Warwick, a six-time Grammy Award-winning music legend, recently debuted her new Las Vegas residency at the Stirling Club. She is also a long-time performer in Las Vegas with over 75 charted hit songs and 18 consecutive Top 100 singles.

Cynthia Gregory has danced professionally as a prima ballerina since age 15 and spent 26 years with American Ballet Theatre. She retired in 1991 and relocated to Las Vegas in 2009. Cynthia joined the Nevada Ballet Theatre and established Cynthia Gregory Center for Coaching at NBT.

Michael Tylo had a long acting career, including roles in the Guiding Light, All My Children, The Young & Restless, and other appearances. In 2003, Michael came to Las Vegas to teach as a visiting professor in theatre and film at UNLV. He would settle in Southern Nevada to serve as assistant dean for the College of Fine Arts and taught acting for UNLV's film department until his passing on Sept. 28, 2021.

A pianist, musical director, conductor, composer, and arranger, David Loeb has performed with many headliners on the Las Vegas Strip. He is director of the Division of Jazz and Commercial Music and professor of music at UNLV's College of Fine Arts School of Music.

Fawn Douglas calls herself an "artivist" as an Indigenous American and member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. Working on her Master of Fine Arts degree at UNLV, Fawn shares stories of her experiences as well as other Indigenous peoples.

Kenny Rampton is a New York City-based trumpet player, arranger, composer, and full-time member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. He is the musician behind the sound of the trumpet on the television show Sesame Street.

Cooper Rust earned her Bachelors of Art in dance and Bachelor of Arts in history from UNLV in 2013 while dancing for Nevada Ballet Theatre. A working trip to Kenya inspired her to create a nonprofit organization, Artists for Africa, to support arts education in East Africa.

The UNLV College of Fine Arts, established in 1992, is one of the nation's largest College of Fine Arts. The college encompasses the departments of art, dance, film, theatre, the School of Music, School of Architecture, Entertainment Engineering & Design, and is home to the Performing Arts Center, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, and Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art.

The 18th Annual College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame gala celebration will be held in the Ballroom in the UNLV Student Union, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, on Apr. 5. The cocktail hour begins at 5:30 p.m. For more information and tickets, click here. Free parking is available in the multi-level Cottage Grove Parking Structure next to the UNLV Performing Arts Center.

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