Penn State cuts cancel concerts

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Budget cuts at Penn State University have forced the cancellation of the Music at Penns Woods classical music concert series.
The decision to cut the series, which was a summer outreach program in the school of music, was difficult, said Richard Durst, dean of the College of Arts and Architecture.
Durst said he did not know how much had been budgeted for the concerts this year, but he said the ideal budget to produce a series like Penns Woods would be about $85,000.
The summer concert series typically consisted of three or four weeks of concerts featuring symphonic and chamber music.
Daniel Armstrong, a Penn State music professor and a timpanist in the orchestra, said he was upset by the elimination of the concert series, which he said started in 1986. The news was especially hard to take after the university just completed a $1.3 billion capital campaign, he said.
Durst said he has received correspondence from concertgoers unhappy with the decision.
"They were upset that we had cut really the only access to classical music this summer," Durst said.
Whether the series returns next year depends on the budget situation, Durst said.