Chicago Symphony Gets $32-Million From Two Foundations
June 16, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Zell Family Foundation and the Negaunee Foundation have donated $17-million and $15-million, respectively, to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to endow the group’s music directorship and boost its education program, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The contribution from the charity of the billionaire former owner of the Tribune, Sam Zell, was made to the endowment and general fund of the parent Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. The gift provides for the naming of the position of music director, held since 2010 by the Italian maestro Riccardo Muti, whose contract was recently extended through 2020.
The gift to the association from the arts-focused Negaunee Foundation will support the work of the orchestra’s education and community-development arm, which was renamed the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
