The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Receives a $2 Million Dollar Pledge from Randy and Melvin Berlin

Jay Henderson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA), announced today that CSOA Trustee Randy Berlin and her husband, Melvin, have pledged $2 million to the CSOA to create the Randy and Melvin Berlin Family Fund for the Canon. This gift provides support for artistic excellence in the programming of core orchestral repertoire by German and Austro-Hungarian composers-such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann-for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO).

"All art forms have a core collection of 'best works' or 'canon'-famous and timeless pieces that have remained appreciated over the centuries," said Randy Berlin. "The deep awe and pleasure we feel for this music of the past enlarges our capacity to connect with the composers from other places and times who transport us through beautiful sound into worlds we never knew and to audiences around the world who share our appreciation. Great art fulfills our urge to make order out of chaos and helps us to be proud of being human. By creating the Fund for the Canon at the CSO, Melvin and I chose to support the masterpieces of core classical orchestral repertoire on which the CSO built its tremendous legacy. It's an honor for us to help ensure the future performances of this great repertoire by this remarkable Orchestra."

CSO Vice President for Development Karen Lewis Alexander said, "Randy and Melvin Berlin have been long-time supporters and loyal patrons of the CSO. With this very generous gift, they ensure that the music which has solidified the reputation of our Orchestra as one of the best in the world will remain a secure and celebrated part of the CSO's legacy for years to come. Their remarkable generosity in support of the core orchestral canon is an inspiring commitment to our Orchestra and the legacy of classical music. We are deeply grateful for their visionary support and their commitment to the artistic excellence of the CSO."

Concert programs scheduled during the 2014/15 season that are supported by the Randy and Melvin Berlin Family Fund for the Canon include:

• Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 at Symphony Ball on September 20, 2014, led by CSO Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti

• Bach's complete Brandenburg Concertos, November 20-25, 2014, led by guest conductor Nicholas Kraemer

• Beethoven's Triple Concerto, led by Muti, with pianist Jonathan Biss, CSO Associate Concertmaster Stephanie Jeong and CSO Assistant Principal Cello Kenneth Olsen as soloists on March 5-7, 2015

• Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 6 and 26, as well as Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben with soprano Dorothea Röschmann and pianist Mitsuko Uchida leading the orchestra from the piano on April 2-4, 2015

Randy (Lamm) Berlin has served as a member of the CSOA's Board of Trustees since 2013, and she and her husband, Melvin, are longtime supporters of the Orchestra. She is a lecturer on the Issues of Law in Literature at the University of Chicago School of Law; previously she was an adjunct professor of Law and Literature at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Before becoming a law professor, she practiced employment law. She is an alumna of Lake Forest College, received her Master's Degree in English Literature from the University of Chicago and her J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.

The gift from the Berlins follows two other major gifts recently received by the CSOA. In June, Helen and Sam Zell endowed the position of Music Director of the CSO in perpetuity with a commitment of $17 million, and the Negaunee Foundation recently committed $15 million to support programs of the Negaunee Music Institute at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as the CSO's Institute for Learning, Access and Training.

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