Music Man Foundation announces $40,000 grant to Music Man Square

MASON CITY — The California-based Music Man Foundation has announced a $40,000 grant to the Mason City Foundation as part of the 121st anniversary of Meredith Willson’s birth.

Those funds will provide general operating support for the Music Man Square, Meredith Willson Museum and Meredith Willson’s boyhood home.

Music Man Foundation executive director Sarah Lyding says Willson and his wife Rosemary shared a deep love of his hometown Mason City and visited often. She says they are proud to continue their support of Mason City and its cultural centers where people can learn more about Meredith’s family, his career, and the Tony Award-winning musical The Music Man.

Rosemary Willson started the foundation in 1998 with a mission to support programs that use music to improve children’s lives, with the Foundation currently focusing its investments into core-curriculum music education and music therapy.