City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has been bequeathed a gift of GBP800,000 (€880,000). The money will be spread out over the next eight years and be used towards its operational and artistic expenses.
The money was left to the orchestra by a regular concertgoer who lived in Lichfield, a city just north of Birmingham.
“Our recent GBP800,000 gift was given by a gentleman who was very special to us, and who first started supporting the orchestra in memory of his wife,” explained CBSO individual giving manager Eve Vines. “In addition to coming to concerts to hear the full orchestra perform, he really valued the work which CBSO musicians did with young people around the region.”
Chief executive Stephen Maddock added: “This important legacy represents a significant contribution to the GBP15m-GBO20m we need to raise from the private sector over the next eight years. Support from generous private funders enables us to maintain and build upon the CBSO’s world-class artistic standards and the breadth of its work in the local community. Without such support every aspect of our work would be diminished beyond recognition.”
CBSO, formerly led by Simon Rattle and Andris Nelsons, will reach its centenary in 2020. Lithuanian Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla took over as music director from Nelsons in 2016, becoming the first female to hold the post.
