California State University of Fullerton this month announced a $2 million gift from the Johnny Carson Foundation for its School of Music.
The gift establishes the Johnny Carson Endowed Fund for Jazz, which will support students in the jazz and commercial music program. It will provide funding for scholarships, competitions, professional development opportunities and more, CSUF said.
“The NBC Orchestra was the heart and soul of ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.’ That music is preserved with the work that Bill Cunliffe and the Cal State Fullerton Jazz Orchestra continue to do,” Jeff Sotzing, vice chairman of the Johnny Carson Foundation, said in a statement. “The grant from the Johnny Carson Foundation will help keep this music alive for a long, long time.”
The Johnny Carson Foundation was founded in 1981 by the late American television host, comedian and writer who hosted the “Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
In total, the foundation has contributed $2.6 million to the university. The foundation discovered CSUF more than 10 years ago when it was seeking a band for an exhibit at the Fullerton Museum Center, eventually landing on the Fullerton Jazz Orchestra led by Grammy Award-winning pianist and CSUF Professor of Music Bill Cunliffe.
