Saturday, March 21, 2015

John Malveaux: Opera Fresh: Shirley Verrett And Henry Lewis Early Supporter Passes Away

Champion For Music: Sylvia Kunin, seen here in 2014, provided support for numerous in the classical world

John Malveaux of 
writes:

Shirley Verrett and Henry Lewis supporter died


Opera Fresh

"In 1955, Sylvia Kunin founded the Young Musicians Foundation in Los Angeles that provided support and a showcase for budding classical-music talents — including conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, guitarist Christopher Parkening and soprano Shirley Verrett — long before they were world-famous....Kunin, 101, died Feb. 12 in a Seattle retirement community. She had had a recent fall and was in declining health, said her son, Barry Eben. The YMF is still going strong. Other musicians who got an early boost not only from the foundation but also from classical music television shows Kunin hosted beginning in the early 1950s include violinists Misha Dichter and Glenn Dicterow, conductors Lawrence Foster and Henry Lewis and cellist Nathaniel Rosen.

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