Dedication of Major Gift Held at SoBe Arts

Students, board members and professional teaching artists of SoBe Institute of the Arts, recipients of a $75,000 gift for a concert grand piano from the Leroy Schecter Foundation, were delighted to get together and thank Mr. Schecter with a 10 foot long poster specially designed and created by appreciative students. Members of the SoBe Arts Board of Directors also presented a check to representatives of Steinway & Sons this evening in the Institute's newly restored 1930's Little Stage Theatre. "Thanks to this very generous gift, SoBe Arts will continue to provide exceptional professional piano performances for our community, as well as to motivate talented young piano students," stated Dr. Carson Kievman, the Institute's Founder and Executive Artistic Director. SoBe Arts Board of Directors member Ray Breslin, who is also President of the Collins Park Neighborhood Association, added "When people ask me what makes SoBe Arts so special, I reply that we are changing lives through engagement with the arts. This important contribution from the Leroy Schecter Foundation will assist SoBe Arts in making a huge impact on the cultural and economic life of our community."

Dr. Kievman and Mr. Breslin were joined on stage by many of SoBe Arts' young students, board members and professional teaching artists to dedicate this magnificent instrument to longtime Leroy Schecter Foundation Officer Ottavia McLaughlin before a theater-full of enthusiastic parents, friends and community members.

The celebration included a Mozart piano piece performed by student Angel Perez and a short concert of Liszt and Schubert piano music by professional faculty pianists Robert Chumbley and Adam Chefitz, followed by a champagne reception.

About SoBe Institute of the Arts (SoBe Arts):

The mission of SoBe Institute of the Arts, a nonprofit organization, is to promote excellence, creativity, and accessibility of the arts through performance events and arts instruction of the highest quality, in music and related artistic disciplines. Since its founding five years ago, SoBe Arts has established a unique arts complex in the historic Carl Fisher Clubhouse and adjoining Little Stage Theater, located in a park-like setting between the Miami Beach Botanical Garden and the Miami City Ballet.

 

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