During this time of Covid-19, political and social turmoil, good news is always welcome. The Music Center of Los Angeles has just announced a $25 million gift from philanthropists Tina and Jerry Moss to benefit programming and enhance access to Arts experiences. This gift is the largest in the history of The Music Center topping other signification donations that include $20 million from philanthropist Glorya Kaufman, which made it possible for the performing arts center to create the highly popular Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center series, and the $12 million from The Music Center Board of Directors Chair Cindy Miscikowski and the Ring-Miscikowski/The Ring Foundation, which seeded the launch of TMC Arts Fund to produce arts education, dance and public programs at The Music Center.
This new gift will create new initiatives such as an annual, free summer concert that will be open to all and held outdoors on the newly named Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center. It will support and augment The Music Center’s promise to continue free and low-cost events, and this money will help formally launch arts partnerships with Los Angeles area community organizations to aid artists to create works with an “emphasis on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists”. The donation will be invested in amenities such as the purchase and installation of a new state-of-the-art sound system for the Jerry Moss Plaza. The new system will provide a higher quality of sound and enhance the experience of those participating in summer concerts, Dance DTLA and other outdoor events sponsored by Grand Park and The Music Center.
Jerry and Tina Moss in The Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza – Photo by John McCoy
Dr. Tina Morse Moss, PsyD, MFT, is founder of LifeDr.com and is a licensed Integrative Health & Relationship expert with over 20 years of experience in the wellness industry. She is a psychotherapist and a former treatment team member in the Adult-Outpatient Psychiatry Department and the Early Childhood Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, as well as a culinary wellness team member and former advisor to The New Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan.
Jerry Moss is a recording executive best known for being the co-founder of A&M Records, along with trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert, in 1962. The company was launched with a handshake and $200 from both men. Over the next 25 years, A&M grew into the largest independent record label in the world and is famous for having signed many of the most successful musical artists, including The Police, Sting, Cat Stevens, The Carpenters, Janet Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Carole King, Joe Cocker and Peter Frampton, among many others. After selling A&M records to Polygram in 1989, Moss and Alpert formed Almo Sounds; Moss serves as chairman of both Almo Sounds and chairman of Rondor Music Inc., a music publishing company. Both were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 as nonperformers.
L to R: The Music Center CEO Rachel Moore, Jerry Moss, and Tina Moss on the newly named Jerry Moss Plaza – Photo by John McCoy
“Music and the arts have always been a large part of our lives as well as providing a sense of passion and purpose. We have gone to The Music Center over the years for wonderful, entertaining cultural experiences,” said Tina and Jerry Moss. “Given its focus on reaching even more Angelenos with meaningful, relevant programs, The Music Center is well-positioned to realize our dreams for this gift; we are thrilled with the organization’s plans to not only to build capacity to deepen the cultural lives of L.A. residents, but also to pay it forward and help strengthen the ability of artists who don’t often have the chance to create and innovate due to lack of support.” Seeking an opportunity to give back to the community where he built his business and experienced his success, Jerry Moss added, “I consider myself a music man, and I want to celebrate that at this stage of my life.”
“The Music Center is deeply grateful to Tina and Jerry Moss for their amazing generosity. This important funding inspires us to apply these resources in ways that honor Jerry Moss’s life commitment to music, artists and the public,” said Cindy Miscikowski, board chair, The Music Center. “The Music Center strives to cultivate and build strong arts and culture-focused partnerships, and this remarkable gift furthers the evolution of our approach to programming, not just for audiences, but by and with the people of the County in ways that reflect the County’s incredible diversity.”
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Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: The Music Center at night.
