The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra is going public in its effort to create a financial endowment and maintain quality music directors going forward.
The idea is to raise $3 million toward an endowment and then start drawing 5% of that endowment each year to finance high caliber music direction.
Jennie Balch Hale, the symphony’s director of development, says the move was made to recognize the superior reputation of the orchestra and the need to offer top candidates competitive salaries.
"We just did it as a way to secure the financial future of the organization and to make sure that we were able to attract the highest caliber talent."
And she says they were able to attract the high caliber music director, Earl Lee, this year after a three-year search.
Hale says they are about $1.7 million from raising the full endowment. As soon as it is complete, the music director salaries will be drawn directly from there.
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