MIAMI — Radio station WLRN will launch a 24-hour classical music station on its HD-2 radio channel Aug. 10, officials said Friday.
The “Classical 24” station will replace the current “Alternative News and Talk” station at WLRN’s HD-2 channel, and is being started to fill the gap left by the departure last month of Classical South Florida from the airwaves.
“We understand the importance and impact that classical music has in this community,” said John LaBonia, general manager of WLRN. “We provided it before Classical South Florida arrived in 2007 and we are happy to provide the service again.”
Classical South Florida’s three stations, including WPBI in West Palm Beach, were sold for $21 million last month to Educational Media Foundation, a California-based Christian broadcaster. The deal ended eight years of classical programming provided by Minnesota-based American Public Media, which in its turn had returned classical music to South Florida after the demise of Miami-based WTMI-FM.
WLRN’s new station will be available through HD-capable radios, live-streaming on wlrn.org, and through WLRN’s iPhone and Android apps. The Classical 24 playlist will be available next week at wlrn.org.
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Harid Conservatory awarded $250,000 Nureyev grant, seeks challenge funds
BOCA RATON — The Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation has awarded The Harid Conservatory a $250,000 grant that will be used to create an endowed fund named for Nureyev, one of the 20th century’s leading dancers.
The grant also comes with a challenge to raise a similar amount by Sept. 10. The conservatory is seeking the support of individuals, private foundations and companies to provide the matching funds.
“The HARID Conservatory is and intends to remain a tuition-free school,” director Gordon Wright said. “This aspect makes it unique among North America’s professional-training programs for dancers. Because Harid is a boarding school, however, fees must be charged for room and board. Unfortunately, this expense has proven insurmountable for some families of gifted young dancers.”
If fully funded, the Rudolf Nureyev Endowed Fund will provide, in perpetuity, need-based awards to offset the living expenses incurred by students enrolled at the conservatory. One or more Rudolf Nureyev Awards will be given annually to qualified students whose families cannot otherwise afford the fees for room and board at the school, officials said in a prepared news release.
The Chicago-based Nureyev Foundation has funded Rudolf Nureyev Awards for Harid students since 2001.
“Over the years, Rudolf Nureyev Awards have been instrumental in allowing students to enroll and pursue their studies at Harid,” Wright said. “The subsequent success achieved by past recipients provides ample evidence of the Awards’ value in the lives of these young artists.”
To contribute to the new Rudolf Nureyev Endowed Fund, contact Wright at 561-997-2677 or send contributions to The Harid Conservatory, 2285 Potomac Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431.
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Kravis Center to install ‘gargantuan’ digital organ under Dreyfoos gift
WEST PALM BEACH — The Kravis Center has received a Marshall & Ogletree digital organ as part of a $5 million gift from area arts philanthropist Alexander W. Dreyfoos, will install it this summer, and unveil it in March 2016.
Dreyfoos specified that $1.5 million of his $5 million gift be allocated to the organ in honor of the late George W. Mergens, a longtime business partner and friend of Dreyfoos.
Marshall & Ogletree, based in the Boston suburb of Needham, Mass., said the Kravis “has chosen an M&O organ of gargantuan proportions” for the center. The Opus 11 organ will include five manuals, more than 200 stops and 96 audio channels. The original design of the Kravis Center, which opened in 1991, had contained an organ, but it was eliminated late in the planning phase.
“We are incredibly grateful to Alex Dreyfoos, our founding chair, for his continued support of the Kravis Center,” said Judith Mitchell, the Kravis Center CEO. “Alex was instrumental in bringing the center to fruition and has continued to have a meaningful impact on the center ever since …We look forward to incorporating this extraordinary instrument in our programming.”
The organ, which will be dedicated as The George W. Mergens Memorial Organ, will be used for performances in the Dreyfoos Concert Hall as well as the Rinker Playhouse and will also be available for use by students and professionals.
The organ will get its debut March 9 at the hands of the young American organist and composer Cameron Carpenter, the first organist ever nominated for a Grammy for a solo album. Carpenter will perform with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.