New York Philharmonic patron Yoko Nagae Ceschina will give a significant annual gift to name the position of Music Director Alan Gilbert. The designation—the Yoko Nagae Ceschina Music Director—is a first for the Philharmonic, and will support Gilbert’s artistic vision. Ceschina has been a major supporter of several of the orchestra’s gala opening nights and provided the lead underwriting gift for the Philharmonic’s historic performance in Pyongyang, North Korea, in 2008. “Yoko Ceschina has supported one of Alan Gilbert’s primary initiatives, an annual three-week Philharmonic Festival, and is also underwriting the Philharmonic’s staged presentation of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in June 2011,” said President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta in a statement. Ceschina, trained as a harpist, graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and later studied in Italy, where she met her husband, businessman Renzo Ceschina, who died in 1982. The amount of Ceschina’s annual gift to name the Philharmonic’s music director position has not been disclosed.
Posted November 22, 2010
