“The late philanthropist Marjorie S. Fisher famously led with her heart when she gave away millions,” writes Mark Stryker in Friday’s (7/15) Detroit Free Press. “And practically nothing touched her heart more than the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She didn’t know many of them personally, but she had tremendous respect for their lifetime commitment to excellence and the quiet sacrifices they make to bring the joy of music to others. … Fisher left $5,000 to every one of the 78 current full-time musicians in the DSO. The novel gift, amounting to $390,000 earmarked directly for the musicians, is almost certainly unprecedented in the orchestra world. When Fisher’s son, Phillip Fisher, chairman emeritus of the DSO board, told the orchestra Thursday at rehearsal, there was a collective gasp in the room. ‘We were floored,’ said principal bassist Kevin Brown, 29. ‘It gets to the heart of the idea of the DSO family.’ … Last summer, in recognition of $15 million in new and recent donations from the family and Marjorie Fisher’s increasing leadership role, the DSO rechristened its Woodward Avenue home from the Max M. Fisher Music Center to the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.”
Posted July 15, 2016
