The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a $400,000 grant to Texas Performing Arts on Thursday to support classical music production for various shows and performances on campus.

“The largest benefit [of the grant] will be for the Butler School of Music because it is really about doing programming for classical music in a more contemporary way and applying it to a more interdisciplinary use,” said Kathy Panoff, director and associate dean of Texas Performing Arts Center.

Panoff said the Mellon Foundation had specific intentions for the grant’s impact on Texas Performing Arts.

“The Mellon Foundation was looking to elevate classical music,” Panoff said. “They were attempting to make classical music more popular, which is difficult in modern times with the younger generation.”

Texas Performing Arts is not a first-time recipient of a Mellon Foundation grant, having previously received money from the Foundation in 2011.

“We had a successful application the first time, and they awarded us $450,000,” Panoff said. “In January, they asked us to apply again because of the success of
the program.”

The Mellon Foundation issues a large number of grants to institutions throughout the country and could not comment on specific details about the money that was given to UT.

According to Texas Performing Arts, the Mellon Foundation gives out grants to qualified colleges and universities with the intention of supporting programs that are among the best in their respective fields. These grants include money for programs in higher education and scholarship, scholarly communications, museums and art conservation, performing arts and conservation and the environment.

The grant for Texas Performing Arts is given on an invite-only basis to the most highly accredited institutions with the highest-ranking music and performing arts departments in the United States.