BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana State University's opera program has received a $4 million donation that will pay to renovate an on-campus recital hall that hosts more than 300 performances a year.
The gift from John Turner and Jerry Fischer is the largest the LSU College of Music and Dramatic Arts has ever received. The opera center will be named after the pair of donors, who the university says have supported opera programs around the world.
The donation will pay for the performance space renovation and support other opera needs. Turner, a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge, and Fischer, an LSU alumnus, said in a statement that the LSU music school is "highly regarded for its excellence." LSU Opera was established in 1931, one of the first major university opera programs in the country.