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Music Majors To Get Free Tuition At Los Angeles City College With $10M Endowment

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Herb Alpert's foundation has given $10.1 million to endow music education at Los Angeles City College.

The gift announced Thursday will provide all music majors tuition-free attendance, additional private lessons and further financial aid.

"I love that LACC has helped so many low-income students who have financial challenges but  have a strong commitment to education and to self-improvement," Alpert said.

Forty percent of music students within the nine-college Los Angeles Community College District study at LACC. The funding will apply to students whether they're in a two-year certificate program or pursuing a four-year music degree.

"The vast majority of our students are from underserved communities and faced with enormous financial challenges as they strive to attain their academic and career goals," said Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Los Angeles City College Foundation. "This generous gift from the Herb Alpert Foundation allows these talented students to focus on their studies while pursuing their individual pathways towards successful careers in the music industry."

Alpert and his wife Lani make annual contributions to the arts and other causes through the foundation, which has provided gifts to the Los Angeles City College totaling more than $500,000.

About 4,000 students take some type of music courses at LACC.

The free-tuition is expected to take effect beginning in the fall of 2017.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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