“Talk about a great surprise,” writes Scott Suttell in Thursday’s (8/9) Crain’s Cleveland Business. “The Cleveland Orchestra announced on Thursday, Aug. 9, that it received a $9.3 million gift from the estate of Dr. Jean Hower Taber, who died in 2017 at age 95. In a news release, the orchestra said the gift ‘was outlined in Dr. Taber’s written estate plans’ and was revealed ‘only after her death.’ Taber, a member of the orchestra’s Heritage Society, ‘gave generously to the orchestra’s annual fund every year and attended Cleveland Orchestra concerts regularly over the decades,’ according to the release. Taber was the great granddaughter of John H. Hower, one of the founders of Quaker Oats Co.… The orchestra said Taber’s gift will enable it to ‘strengthen its commitment to the future as the ensemble enters its Second Century, dedicated to musical excellence, sharing the power and passion of music, inspiring future generations, and serving the Northeast Ohio community.’ The orchestra’s concert on Saturday, Aug. 11 … [was] dedicated to Taber. ‘I cannot possibly express how grateful we all are at The Cleveland Orchestra for this extraordinarily generous—and completely unexpected—gift,’ said André Gremillet, the orchestra’s executive director.”
Posted August 13, 2018
