“The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has received a $2.9-million gift to its endowment to support music education programs,” writes Mark Stryker in Friday’s (5/27) Detroit Free Press. “The gift from the estate of Clyde and Helen Wu is the second-largest estate bequest in the orchestra’s history. Clyde Wu, a doctor, and his wife Helen, a trained pianist, were among the orchestra’s most musically literate and passionate supporters. Their lifetime giving to the DSO tops $5 million with the inclusion of the estate gift. During the past 20 years, the couple championed music education as transformative for children and critical to the long-term health of classical music institutions like the DSO. The orchestra education initiatives are under the banner of the Wu Family Academy for Learning & Engagement.… The couple … attended DSO concerts for more than 50 years, served on its board and tirelessly spread the gospel of the DSO and the power of music education.… The Wu gift nearly matches the $3-million bequest from the Bernard Pincus Estate that the DSO received as part of an overall $6-million gift in the late ‘90s to endow the Jacob Bernard Pincus Music Education Center.”
Posted May 31, 2016
