MEDFORD, OR — In honor of the 60th Anniversary of the Britt Festival Orchestra (BFO) in 2022 and in recognition of Teddy Abrams being honored with Musical America’s 2022 Composer of the Year Award, Britt Music and Arts Festival will establish a $500,000 Britt Festival Orchestra Fund. The fund will be used to support the growth and development of the BFO in the future.
The BFO Fund will be managed by a committee consisting of the Britt Board Chair, President and CEO, Music Director, BFO General Manager, and two community members-at-large. The committee will make investment and allocation recommendations to the Britt Board of Directors.
“President and CEO Donna Briggs came to the Board of Directors in December with a well-thought-out plan to establish the Britt Festival Orchestra Fund in commemoration of these historic milestones and to solidly position the BFO for the next 60 years. The Board followed Briggs’s recommendation and voted unanimously to establish the BFO Fund. This fund was only made possible due to Briggs’s strong fiscal management over the past decade,” says Britt Board Chair Dominic Campanella.
The organization hopes that the BFO Fund will inspire orchestra patrons to support the orchestra musicians and programs in meaningful ways. During the coming months, the committee will develop a plan to grow the fund to $1 million within the next two years.
BFO Music Director and Conductor Teddy Abrams says, “Establishing this artistic fund for the Britt Festival Orchestra is a tremendous development in Britt’s history – an affirmation of the creative vision of the Orchestra, and critical ballast for future projects and programs that allow us to bring exceptional innovation, creativity, and talent to our beloved Rogue Valley. This fund will be a significant and inspiring legacy of Donna Briggs’s tenure at Britt, and the results will be enjoyed by both our Orchestra’s musicians and audiences for many seasons to come.”
Inspired by its intimate and scenic hillside venue, Britt Music & Arts Festival provides diverse live performances, an incomparable classical festival, and dynamic education programs that create a sense of discovery and community. Since its grassroots beginnings in 1963, the non-profit organization has grown from a two-week chamber music festival to a summer-long series of concerts in a variety of genres, including a three-week orchestra season, and year-round education and engagement programs. For more information, visit www.brittfest.org.