The University Musical Society recently received some very good news: it is one of three university-based, multi-disciplinary performing arts presenting organizations in the country to receive a $600,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. (UMS' budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which ends June 30, is $6.5 million.)

The grants were awarded to sustain and advance the organizations’ ambitious commitment to classical music in the face of intense economic challenge. The three grant recipients — Cal Performances at the University of California at Berkeley; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and UMS — will use these funds to support shows in their classical music programs between January 2010 and June 2013, and the foundation awarded an additional $100,000 to the consortium to support collaborative activities.

During the three‐and‐a‐half‐year framework of the grant, each institution will develop and implement strategies for securing new funds to extend the impact of the foundation's investment beyond the third year. In addition, the consortium will work with the foundation to convene a summit on the future of classical music presenting in higher education. A select group of leaders across a broad spectrum of campus types — public and private, from the small liberal arts campus to the large research university — will be invited to share information and perspectives on the current state of the field and to collectively imagine possible pathways forward.

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.