Recent Concert Celebrates $5 Million Gift from the Palm Beach Pops to Transform FAU Education in Music

Image: Frank Derrick, Cornelia Brubeck, Monica Hidalgo Brivaldes, Ranses Colon, Phil Hinton, Courtney Jones, Jon Lappin

Florida Atlantic University recently held a concert to celebrate a $5 million gift from the Palm Beach Pops to transform Florida Atlantic music education. The concert was co-produced by Michael Zager, iconic music producer, Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Residence and director of the FAU commercial music program; Jon Lappin, former president and executive director of The Palm Beach Pops, and Kevin Wilt, FAU music department chair.  The event was attended by donors, sponsors, administrators and special guests in the intimate Eleanor R. Baldwin House, where Bob Lappin received the inaugural Cultural Leader of the Year Award almost 20 years ago to the day. The concert included performances by former Palm Beach Pops musicians, including Cornelia Brubeck, cello; Ranses Colón, bass; Frank Derrick, drums; and Phil Hinton, piano. Two of FAU’s distinguished music faculty, Courtney Jones, trumpet, and Monica Berovides-Hidalgo, vocals, were also part of the performance.

The celebration followed the recent approval by the FAU Board of Trustees of the official naming of The Bob Lappin & The Palm Beach Pops Memorial Music Library, which is comprised of more than 1,600 titles and scores – a significant amount of which were arranged by the industry’s most prestigious arrangers and from some of the Great American Songbook’s greatest composers.

 The gift additionally includes a multi-million-dollar endowment designated as a lead gift and catalyst for expanding FAU’s recording studios into world class technical facilities, as well as development of a soundstage for the Hoot/Wisdom Recordings Label to enhance hands-on learning and further commercial recording releases for the Grammy-winning past and future students.

“This gift encompasses all the beauty a legacy can offer every highly regarded music student as they pursue their musical journey,” said Jon Lappin. “From scholarships to exceptional instruments, master classes to fellowships, the funding will ensure the foundation of business acumen coupled with the nationally recognized music education will continue into perpetuity. The library itself is one of the most comprehensive in the world and is highlighted by countless arrangements for full orchestra and subsets by the industry's most prolific arrangers, who arranged for all of the stars, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme and the list goes on. It is a privilege to provide such an asset to FAU, which will now be the steward of such a legacy born right out of Palm Beach County. My father, the Maestro Bob Lappin, would be proud and would welcome the preservation of the three decades of world class presentations right here where he and the incomparable Pops entertained hundreds of thousands of patrons and educated more than 100,000 students in the public school system.”

A special space on the FAU campus near the Department of Music is being specially retrofitted for the collection, which will benefit music students, faculty, and visiting scholars and musicians. The space is projected to be open sometime later this spring. The library will complement the Bob Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops Music Legacy Endowment that will fund scholarships, graduate fellowships and other student financial aid to recruit and retain top music students. The endowment also provides financial support for students to purchase higher quality instruments, as well as specialized instruments and pianos within the music department. This support will bolster the Department of Music’s successful degree programs in commercial music, music education, music performance, and conducting, which have produced Grammy-winning artists and producers, industry-leading music executives, world-class music educators, and top-tier scholars.

“We are grateful to the Legacy Foundation of Palm Beach County/Palm Beach Pops, led by Jon Lappin, for selecting Florida Atlantic’s Department of Music to establish an extraordinary legacy for Bob Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops,” said FAU President Stacy Volnick. “The Palm Beach Pops brought entertainment and joy to listeners of all ages, and we’re proud to carry forward its mission of music education. This gift benefits not only our students but the larger community.”

FAU will continue the Palm Beach Pops legacy of music education by expanding student outreach, allowing students throughout Palm Beach County to tour the university music facilities and observe rehearsals and classes. It also received the Palm Beach Pops brand, trademark and associated entities. In honor of Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops, FAU will host an annual legacy concert, the first of which will be in the spring of 2026. Additionally, FAU will establish a public tribute to Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops in the University Theatre lobby with artifacts, photos and other items on permanent display.

For additional information about FAU’s Department of Music, visit bjrujiabj.com/music