Create A Legacy

Richard L. English Fund

In 1894, a group of music lovers gathered in a stately home on Hillhouse Avenue and voted to guarantee the funding needed to form a symphony orchestra in their beloved city. Thus began New Haven’s reign as the cultural capital of Connecticut and the tradition of audiences helping to fund world-class music in their hometown. One initial “guarantor” was Henry Fowler English, grandfather of Richard English who continued the family’s 118 year-old tradition of supporting the NHSO. His annual gifts and endowed funds have provided crucial underwriting for the Symphony’s live performances and regional education programs.

Richard English was an arts patron, pianist, and philanthropist with a passion for music, birds, and the love of the New Haven community. Born in New Haven on March 5, 1935 he was the son of Philip and Katharine Dana English. He was descended from noted Yale scientist James Dwight Dana on his mother’s side and two Connecticut governors on his father’s side.

He was educated at The Foote School, Pomfret, Proctor Academy, Nichols College, Quinnipiac College, and the Neighborhood Music School. Mr. English was acknowledged as a fine musicologist and ornithologist. He was retired from The First New Haven National Bank and was a past President and longest-standing member of the New Haven Bird Club.

Classical music was part of his everyday life and this love blossomed into an impressive expertise that continued throughout his lifetime. This passion for music and affection for the New Haven community prompted Mr. English to leave a bequest establishing a fund at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, supporting the NHSO. His generous donation will influence the success of the NHSO in incredible ways for generations to come.

NHSO Foundation

William Inglis Morse Trust

Anna Cutler Fund
Arthur & Ruth Nabstedt Fund
Bette G. Gruskay Education Fund
Brooks Shepard, Jr. Fund
Christopher & Toddie Getman Fund
Elizabeth Kingsley Harvey Fund
Helen Roberts Trust
Helen H. Roberts Fund
Henry Brightwell Fund
Henry F. English Fund
James Marshall & Marie-Louise Osborn Collection
John Herrick Jackson Fund
John H. & William B. Jackson Memorial Fund
Mildred Pond Fund
New Haven Symphony Orchestra Fund
Peter C. Hereld Fund for Blind and Dyslexic Listeners
Susan Morse Hilles Trust
Walter E. & Anna L. Malley Funds
William J. & Clare W. Bright Fund
Yale University and The White Foundation

The Legacy Society recognizes those who plan a gift to the NHSO. Let us know if you qualify for membership and society events.

Burton Alter
Myrna F. Baskin

Myrna Baskin plans a donation to the NHSO in her will. “I’ve had a lifelong passion for the arts,” says Myrna, who majored in music at Smith College. “There’s so much talent and ability in New Haven, yet so many young people don’t have an opportunity to take advantage of their gifts. It is a privilege to help provide Symphony education programs for their futures.”

Dr. and Mrs. Harold D. Bornstein, Jr.

Harold and Maureen Bornstein have been involved and engaged members of our Greater New Haven community for over six decades. A graduate of Yale Medical School, Harold’s selfless work as a pediatrician in our neighborhoods and local hospitals gave the gift of wellness and peace of mind to countless children and families from all walks of life. Maureen’s mission, in turn, has been the intellectual growth of these very same youngsters, serving tirelessly as an elementary school teacher. She and Harold crossed paths through their advocacy with the Board of Education and the rest is history. Although both have since retired, their enthusiastic involvement in the community has yet to miss a beat. Harold is famous throughout town as the cultivator of beautiful spider plants, donating his finest specimens to charitable causes across New Haven and earning the well-deserved nickname “Spiderman.” As loyal and enthusiastic patrons of your New Haven Symphony Orchestra, they have provided many marvelous spider plants to our Galas and charitable auctions. Harold and Maureen both recognize that their ability to ensure the future of beautiful music in New Haven goes beyond annual charity. They decided to create a legacy with your Symphony by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Their membership in the Legacy Society affirms that the music they love will continue to flourish in the lives of the children they spent both their careers serving.  All the while, they will enjoy financial security throughout their retirement as their gift annuity generates a guaranteed income for life.

Robert and Priscilla Dannies
William B. Eddison, Jr. Trust
Geraldine Frankel
Toddie and Chris Getman

Chris Getman is a professional who has worn many hats throughout the course of his career: from English teacher and coach at The Hotchkiss School, to Associate Director of the Yale Alumni Fund, to First Vice President with Merrill Lynch, and finally, as President of Soundview Capital Management in the present . Through all of these opportunities, Chris and his wife Toddie have been deeply rooted in the civic fabric of New Haven. Foremost in their hearts, however, has been the enduring legacy of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Although Chris recalls his first experience with classical music as using a Haydn record to play Frisbee, a music appreciation class at Yale University opened his eyes to the splendor of the orchestra. Citing Mozart and Wagner as personal favorites, the Getman family has strived to instill this generational love of classical music in both their children and grandchildren. Yet as symphonies around the nation continue shutting their doors, Chris and Toddie realized their own responsibility to give back to the arts and secure a musical heritage from which their grandchildren and great-grandchildren can learn and prosper. Through a fund managed by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the Getman family has done their part to guarantee the impact of the Symphony they admire, in the city that they love, in perpetuity. Chris and Toddie hope that the power of planned giving to the New Haven Symphony Orchestra will inspire others to make their voices heard as well. Chris observed how “we’re in a position where we can and want to give something back… you give back to whatever has made your life worthwhile. Having your money someplace where you know it will be working forever is a pretty gratifying experience.”

Ruth B. Grannick
Paul and Kathy Hermes
Dr. John Kelly
Rosalind E. Lawrence
James T. and Marcia Morley
Bob and Sandy Santy

Bob and Sandy Santy are two lifelong residents of Southern Connecticut always asking how they can give back to the community organizations they so love. Bob began his musical voyage through singing in kindergarten, progressively joining K-12 choirs, church choirs, and later as a young adult, experiencing the grandeur of the symphony orchestra while singing Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 with the Norwalk Symphony. When the time came to raise a family, Bob promised Sandy he would restrain himself from being an overbearing father, except in one way: he wanted to make sure his children had an interest in music. He cultivated this love by playing music in the home constantly, encouraging their explorations with cello and saxophone lessons, and urging them to participate in their public school arts curricula.

Now, Bob is a professional in charge of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, dedicated to advancing the state’s economic health and competitiveness. As a leader on many nonprofit boards, Bob knows what it takes to make Connecticut a great place to work, live, and thrive. “When I join something, I really immerse myself in it,” Bob states, “and for me, almost nothing is more meaningful than service to a music nonprofit like the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.”  Now a veteran member of our Board, Bob acknowledges how truly lucky New Haven is for all of its rich arts offerings, available on nearly every corner. But for Bob and his family, the NHSO is unique. Not only does the Symphony preserve an invaluable cultural tradition, but your NHSO blazes new trails as well with programs such as last year’s educational residency with Daniel Bernard Roumain.

As much as Bob and Sandy love the NHSO, they can’t give as much as they would like to on an annual basis. They have decided to join the Legacy Society in order to solve this very dilemma. Bob remarks that “Planned giving is all about saying, at the end of my life, what will I have liked to have supported? Will I have done what I could have done? After I have paid for my expenses for my children and retirement, if there’s something left, I want it to go to the Symphony, because I couldn’t do as much as I would have liked to along the way. The more planned gifts the Symphony receives, the longer the traditions that we so valued will continue generation after generation.”

Tracey and David Scheer
Kimberly P. Williams Family Fund
Frank G. Winder Trust