The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra Receives Largest Gift In History

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra (SDSO) has announced a donation of $2 million from philanthropists Rosemarie and Dean Buntrock. This is the largest gift ever received by the organization. The gift will support increased fundraising and marketing capacity for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. It also funds two initiatives highly relevant to South Dakota: new concerts for the acclaimed Lakota Music Project, and a production of Douglas Moore's Pulitzer Prize winning opera Giants in the Earth, based on the Ole Rølvaag novel about Norwegian immigration to South Dakota.

Originally from Columbia, South Dakota, and a life trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Buntrock has long supported the arts. He was inspired to make this gift after reading about the SDSO's bold programming and artistic impact in The New Yorker magazine.

About the gift, Buntrock says, "The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra is a tremendous asset for the State of South Dakota and has been doing great work with a small budget. It is my hope that the initiatives funded by this donation will advance the work of this wonderful orchestra and its adventurous programming, making it available to many more people in the state."

About the donation, Executive Director Jennifer Teisinger, says, "Dean Buntrock's visionary gift is in direct response to the artistic vibrancy the SDSO brings to our community and the State of South Dakota.

Music Director Delta David Gier says, "This donation is as much about building momentum at the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra as it is the phenomenal recognition of the achievements here. We do the right things for the right reasons in the right way. Dean Buntrock saw that in us and has become a great champion of the momentum and the possibilities here at the SDSO."