Written by Sean Riedel

In a ballroom full of chatter, anticipation and curiosity, Larry Klein sits among the dozens of guests, all members of UNT’s 1890 Society — a giving society for donors who have included the university in their wills that hosts an annual luncheon for members to engage with one another.

Larry, who is set to speak to the crowd in just a few minutes, can’t help but find himself struck by the gentle strumming of harp strings. A group of student musicians in the corner of the room pluck away, creating beautiful background music.

But for Larry, they served as much more than background noise, they served as a reminder of one of the reasons why he decided to give to UNT in the first place.

“There were five harp players who played just lovely, lovely background music during that event,” Larry says. “UNT is noted for the One O'Clock Lab Band, the Two O'Clock Lab Band and so on — I mean, we're talking about established subsets of the UNT College of Music. And here, virtually unrecognized, were five performers who fit so well into the event.”

Larry doesn’t play any instruments himself, but in the years since moving to Denton, he’s gained a strong appreciation for the instrument and the artists who play it.

“Particularly for the harp students — and it's just my perception — is that they seemingly toil away at their love of performance and their love of harp music with little or no notoriety or recognition,” Larry says. “But they perform, and I sense they do it out of out of their love of playing harp music.”

And as their way to support those students’ passion for strumming harp strings, Larry and Mary Ann established an endowed scholarship for UNT student musicians studying harp.

Additionally, Larry and Mary Ann have established an endowed scholarship supporting UNT College of Music students, and have an estate gift that will similarly support students in the college focusing in any area.

Larry and Mary Ann’s passion for supporting the UNT College of Music isn’t rooted in having a connection to music or the university at all. The couple met at Rutgers in the late 1960s and have been together ever since. Over the course of more than five decades, Larry has worked as an insurance underwriter and risk manager.

Having lived in numerous locations around the country, he and Mary Ann moved to Denton 16 years ago. Shortly after the move, they attended their first salon concert featuring student musicians from UNT’s College of Music.

“That's where a group of musicians are agreeable to accept invitations to come to a person's home and put on a brief performance,” he says. “It’s an intimate opportunity to introduce people to the depth and breadth of the capabilities of the UNT College of Music, and that was our first.”

But certainly not their last. Larry says he and Mary Ann have attended numerous UNT College of Music salon concerts and dozens of others at the Murchison Performing Arts and the Paul Voertman Concert Hall over the years.

And then sometimes, like at the 1890 Society luncheon, the music is unexpectedly present — and powerful.

“It reinforced my opinion,” he says. “These are dedicated individuals who have selected their chosen profession. They don't necessarily know exactly what they're going to be doing upon graduation, but they do have a very clear vision of their interests, and I was impressed by how they performed.”

Through their generosity, Larry and Mary Ann are helping musicians’ dreams come true and allowing them opportunity to share their talents with others.

“My hope is that the benefactors of the gifts I have made, and the gifts that are yet to come, is that those musicians will recognize that it was a gift that allowed them to pursue their dream of sharing the hope of making music,” Larry says. “And that they will continue in their life to share their gift with others — that they pass it along.”