Kennedy Center Receives Second $10 Million Gift From David Rubenstein
Kennedy Center Receives Second $10 Million Gift From David Rubenstein
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., has received a $10 million gift from its chairman, David Rubenstein, for the second time in less than six months, the Associated Press reports.
The gift, which makes Rubenstein the largest donor in Kennedy Center history, will be used to help the center reach younger and more economically diverse audiences. To that end, the organization will reduce ticket prices for underserved groups and military families, provide support for opera programs as it completes its merger with the Washington National Opera later this year, fund a new program that brings popular artists to the center, and support a street arts festival in Washington, D.C., in 2012.
Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, told the Associated Press he has noticed fewer young people in theater audiences. "I hope that that can change," he added. "If younger people don't go to opera or don't go to [hear] classical music, then ultimately there won't be an audience for it when they get older."
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