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Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sempre Always: The Campaign for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

October 2023

As the chair of SEMPRE ALWAYS: The Campaign for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, it is my pleasure to share an update about this vital initiative with you. Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association family have joined together to make significant progress towards the goal, and I am encouraged by supporters’ enthusiasm for the campaign’s four main pillars: achieving financial sustainability, sustaining musical excellence, expanding education and community engagement and strengthening Chicago’s cultural fabric. The commitment to the legacy of the CSO is apparent in every unique gift — each curated to support what is meaningful and inspirational to you. Every gift is important to the overall success of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for generations to come. On behalf of the CSOA Board of Trustees and leadership, thank you for your generosity, and I look forward to sharing more terrific news as this new season unfolds.

Sincerely,

Helen Zell Signature

Helen Zell

Helen Zell

PROGRESS TO DATE

$175 Million Goal

CSO $175 Million Goal

70% Raised

$123 Million Overall Total Raised | 130 Total Commitments
Endowment: $65.7 Million | Board-Directed Investments Fund: $57.3 Million
31% of all gifts utilize planned giving

2022/23 SEASON CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS
(July 1, 2022 –June 30, 2023)

$8.9 Million Overall Season Total | 22 New Commitments
Endowment: $4.2 Million | Board-Directed Investments Fund: $4.7 Million

John Bruce Yeh

As a part of the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign, CSOA leadership and the Governing Members Executive Committee introduced The Governing Members Chair, an opportunity that welcomes Governing Members to give toward a collective total that will sponsor a revolving musician chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The inaugural holder of this sponsored chair is Assistant Principal Clarinet John Bruce Yeh. We are preparing additional consortium funds to provide accessible, affordable and impactful opportunities for all to participate in the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign.

Jeff Alexander

The campaign’s message was highlighted during several awareness events. CSOA President Jeff Alexander and SEMPRE ALWAYS Chair Helen Zell hosted small group conversations, receptions and family-style dinners, all of which began important conversations and deepened connections between interested supporters and the CSO. We were joined at several of these events by CSO musicians, who performed and mingled with new and familiar faces. In the summer, the CSOA hosted a reception at the Ravinia Festival during the CSO’s residency, sharing the success and upcoming plans for the campaign with an interested and engaged crowd. 

Dr. Phyllis Bleck and John Hagstrom

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

An extraordinary gift toward the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign from Dr. Phyllis Bleck named a trumpet section chair in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, currently held by John Hagstrom, as the Bleck Family Chair. Read more.

Dr. Bleck is an active member of the Theodore Thomas Society and the Governing Members of the CSOA, both of which present distinctive ways to support SEMPRE ALWAYS.

A full donor listing for SEMPRE ALWAYS can be found here.

Gifts to the SEMPRE ALWAYS Campaign are unique in size, timeline, structure and purpose. To learn more, contact Al Andreychuk at AndreychukA@cso.org or 312-294-3150.

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Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association
220 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60604
Patron Services: 312-294-3000

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