DONOR PROFILE
A SUMMER OF THE INAUGURAL ROBERT E . MEYERHOFF AND RHEDA BECKER COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES
For more than 50 years , Robert E . Meyerhoff ( Bob ) and Rheda Becker have been actively engaged in supporting education opportunities for students in the arts and sciences . Their roots with the BSO are equally long and deep .
Bob ’ s uncle , the late Joseph Meyerhoff , provided the vision , leadership , and funding to build the concert hall in Baltimore City that bears his name . Rheda became the Orchestra ’ s first official narrator in 1974 , launching a 40-year career that brought music into the lives of tens of thousands of young minds and audiences of all ages , a tenure aligning with the establishment of the Orchestra ’ s summer performances at Oregon Ridge Park in Baltimore County , with regional “ symphony society ” programs across the state , and with international tours to East Germany .
In 2008 , Bob and Rheda came together to make their first extraordinary gift to the BSO : providing the seed funding to launch OrchKids , a program envisioned by then Music Director Marin Alsop to use music as vehicle to create opportunity for Baltimore City youth . What started with 30 students at one school has grown to serve 1,850 + students across seven embedded Baltimore City Public School sites and become a leader in the field of El Sistema inspired programs across the world . In appreciation for their leading and loyal support of OrchKids and the Orchestra , as well as for their distinguished service and efforts to encourage the actions of others as volunteer leaders , Bob and Rheda were appointed Life Directors of the BSO in 2012 .
Last month , the BSO announced another generous gift from Bob and Rheda in two profound parts . First , operating funds supporting the BSO ’ s multi-year commitment to increase the size , compensation , and quality of the Orchestra , as well as to expand community-based performances in Baltimore City and throughout the state of Maryland . The second part of the gift supports the strategic expansion of OrchKids including a $ 1M gift to establish the first OrchKids Endowment Fund within the Baltimore Symphony Endowment Trust .
In deep appreciation for the entirety of their latest gift and reflecting on decades of annual support , the BSO also announced that every Orchestra concert held beyond the walls of The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall or The Music Center at Strathmore will for the next five years will be recognized as A Robert E . Meyerhoff & Rheda Becker Community Performance . This recognition begins with the expansive 2023 Summer Season including these eight county-based stops on the second leg of the Orchestra ’ s Music for Maryland Tour .
Learn more about Bob and Rheda ’ s story here .
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