Olga and David Melin, among the most devoted and longtime benefactors of the Frost School of Music, have given $400,000 to create an endowed fellowship for the Henry Mancini Orchestra. Named the Olga & David Melin Henry Mancini Orchestra Strings Endowment Fellowship, it will provide a perpetual annual stipend for a graduate string student.
“I love to support young up and coming musicians,” said Olga Melin.
The couple’s history of giving to the Frost School goes back to 1958, when they made their first donation, of just $5, soon after Olga Melin earned a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Miami in 1956. They have donated consistently, and ever more generously, ever since. At the 2019 Winter Wonderful gala the Melins were honored with the Frost Legacy Award, the Frost School’s greatest honor, presented to donors who represent extraordinary giving and support to the school, its community, and the arts.
“Olga and David Melin have been friends and supporters of the last three Frost School deans, which goes back several decades,” said Dean Shelton G. Berg. “They have been gracious friends to me, and have extended themselves to support our performances and students. I am thrilled by their new gift to permanently endow the scholarship of a brilliant Henry Mancini Fellow in the Frost School of Music. Olga and David understand the impact their contribution will have on the lives and careers of future recipients, and my colleagues and I are exceedingly grateful to them.”
The Melins are also UM Grand Founder Society members, and support the visual and performing arts, human services, conservation, and wildlife as directors of the Olga and David Foundation. The couple, who live in Miami-Dade, are enthusiastic Frost concertgoers.
“We go all the time,” said Olga Melin. “We are music lovers, we love classical and jazz.” She praised the HMI orchestra in particular. “They can play everything to perfection.”
