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As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.

The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.

Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.

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Home » Orchestra News » Chicago Symphony Orchestra Receives Record-Setting Gifts


Chicago Symphony Orchestra Receives Record-Setting Gifts

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Chicago Symphony Orchestra Receives Record-Setting Gifts

In early June, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) received two gifts totaling $32 million—the largest in the orchestra’s 123-year history.

The Zell Family Foundation made a $17 million gift to CSO’s endowment and general operating funds. The gift will be used to underwrite, in perpetuity, the position of music director, which has been held by Riccardo Muti since 2010. Muti recently renewed his contract for five years, through the 2019-2020 season.

A second gift of $15 million was pledged by the Negaunee Foundation and will support the work of CSO’s Institute for Learning, Access, and Training, which will now be known as the Negaunee Music Institute. The institute was established as CSO’s education and community outreach arm. It engages approximately 200,000 children, teens, and adults of diverse income every year. 

The previous single largest contribution to the CSO was
$6 million made in 1997 by an anonymous donor to help fund the building of the Symphony Center complex that houses the orchestra’s concert hall and administrative offices.







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