English composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber will be making a huge investment in theater over the next three years, according to The Guardian. During that period of time, the legendary figure will dole out £1.5 million (approximately $2.4 million) to fund the education of 30 performing arts students at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama and Royal Academy of Music and Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
Tuition runs as high as £13,000 ($21,000) per year at these prestigious institutions. The composer’s money will be awarded to those students who show exceptional promise but cannot afford the steep attendance fees.
Lloyd Webber, famous for musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats and Evita, has already helped many individuals make their way onto the London theater scene. According to Mamma Mia! and Shrek star Grant Murphy, he and his family wouldn’t have been able to afford his training at Arts Educational Schools London. Before Lloyd Webber came along, the Murphys were “struggling to pay their bills and mortgage, let alone sending their son to a dance and drama college. They had to scrape… to pay for clothes and books,” he told the newspaper.
“To have someone invest in high-caliber training, which is expensive and time-consuming, is wonderful,” Central School professor Wendy Gadian said of Lloyd Webber’s enormous gift. “We’re profoundly grateful for the support. It’s the first for musical theater we’ve received.”
Via The Guardian
