Thursday (9/20) on the New York Times blog ArtsBeat, Felicia R. Lee reports, “The Harlem School of the Arts, a community arts school that has faced major financial hurdles in the last few years, has received a grant of more than $5 million from the Herb Alpert Foundation that will allow the school to retire its debt, restore its endowment and create a scholarship program for needy students. The gift, to be officially announced by school officials on Monday, is the largest in the history of the school, which was founded in 1964 by the concert soprano Dorothy Maynor. The $5,050,000 grant from Mr. Alpert, the renowned musician, composer and recording industry executive, brings to $6 million the total amount he has given the school since a fiscal crisis forced its doors to close for three weeks in 2010. The school, at 645 St. Nicholas Avenue (at 141st Street), provides training in dance, music, theater and the visual arts. In recognition of Mr. Alpert’s gift, the facility’s name will become the Herb Alpert Center. … Yvette L. Campbell, who became president and chief executive of the school in January 2011, called the gift ‘transformative’ during an interview on Thursday. She noted that the school’s entire operating budget is $3.4 million.”
Posted September 21, 2012
