In Saturday’s (4/11) New York Times, Daniel J. Wakin reports, “Word that the Juilliard School had lost financing for a prized musical training program for black and Latino children has brought forth numerous offers of help, including a major pledge from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation of Los Angeles, school and foundation officials said on Friday. Juilliard’s president, Joseph W. Polisi, said he was sending out information to foundations and individual donors who had inquired about helping the Music Advancement Program, which accepts about 50 children a year. … Juilliard quietly sent out word in recent weeks that it would not be having auditions next month for an incoming class but that this year’s crop of first-year students could come back next year to finish. After that, the program would continue only if financing could be found, Juilliard said. … After an article about the suspension in The New York Times on Wednesday, Mr. Polisi said, many offers to help came in, including an inquiry from the foundation of Eli Broad, a billionaire philanthropist who is a major donor in the worlds of education, the arts, medicine and science. A foundation spokeswoman, Erica S. Lepping, said Mr. Broad had pledged $425,000 over four years, which she said was enough for the program ‘to become sustainable for the foreseeable future.’ … Mr. Polisi said he would seek pledges to keep the program going for three to four years. A year costs roughly $450,000.”
Posted April 14, 2009
