In Wednesday’s (8/27) Star Tribune (Minneapolis), Graydon Royce writes that the Minnesota Orchestra “has received $13.2 million in four separate donations. All given anonymously, the donations include a single $10 million ‘leadership gift.’ Three other donors contributed the additional $3.2 million…. Most of the $10 million donation will go to … augment the orchestra’s general endowment,” currently $163 million. “A portion of the gift also will go to artistic initiatives, beginning with the season that opens in September…. The $10 million gift is one of the largest in recent Orchestra history.… In July, musicians, staff, board members and community volunteers raised nearly $290,000 for the 2014 Guaranty Fund…. The orchestra’s fiscal year ends on Sunday. Kevin Smith, who officially takes over as interim president and CEO next Monday, said in an interview earlier this week that the fiscal 2014 deficit is expected to be less than $1 million on a budget of $21 million.… He expects next year’s budget to be about $29 million, a figure that was approved by the board Wednesday…. The new season opens in a remodeled Orchestra Hall with a fundraising gala on Sept. 5, [where] … the orchestra’s 2014 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance will be unveiled.”
Posted August 28, 2014
Pictured: The Minnesota Orchestra and Music Director Osmo Vänskä
