Contributions to Pacific Chorale’s Endowment Fund are invested in perpetuity; the interest generated from the Endowment helps to provide the Chorale with long-term financial stability. The Chorale is delighted to acknowledge its generous Endowment Fund donors. We are deeply grateful to them for their belief and investment in the organization’s future.
Commitments of $1,000,000 and Above
William J. Gillespie
Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons, Artistic Director Chair
Commitments of $100,000 and Above
Ron Gray
Commitments of $50,000 and Above
Mike Andrews
Janice Johnson, in Memory of Roger W. Johnson
John and Elizabeth Stahr
Commitments of $25,000 and Above
Marilyn and Tom Nielsen
George H. I. Reiss
Commitments of $10,000 and Above
Wells Fargo Bank
Greg and MarJane Christofferson
Dr. Edward and Mrs. Helen Shanbrom, in Memory of David Lee Shanbrom
Vina and Barry Williams
Commitments of $5,000 and Above
Anne B. Nutt
Commitments of $1,000 and Above
Michael and Karen Carroll
Dr. James and Yuko Kawai Dunning
Margaret Gates
Michael and Eleanor Gordon
Lori Loftus
Dennis V. Menke
Richard Messenger
Richard and Michele McNeil
Jeanette Moon
Donna Morse
Carl and Susan St.Clair, in memory of Cole Carsan St. Clair
The Encore Society recognizes and honors those who have included Pacific Chorale as part of their estate planning. By remembering Pacific Chorale in a will, an insurance policy or retirement plan, by establishing a charitable remainder trust, or through any other planned-giving vehicle, you have the opportunity to leave a definite legacy and ensure the preservation of quality choral music and education. Have you ever considered extending your generosity beyond your lifetime?
Pacific Chorale’s Artistic Director Chair, currently held by Robert Istad, has been endowed by Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons.
We are deeply humbled and grateful to announce that Ron Gray, a former Pacific Chorale singer, left a bequest to our Endowment Fund of $300,000, establishing the Ron Gray Legacy Fund in 2021, which will annually underwrite two staff singer positions in our bass and tenor sections.
Long-time Board member Janice Johnson made a gift in 2007 to endow a chair for our Tenor Section Leader in memory of her husband Roger. Our Roger W. Johnson Memorial Chair is Nicholas Preston.
A coalition of Pacific Chorale singers and supporters pooled their resources to endow a chair for a second soprano in memory of Rita Major, a former administrative leader of the Chorale, a longtime employee of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and our last surviving founding member still active as a singer at the time of her passing in 2017. Our Rita Major Memorial Chair is Barbara Kingsbury.
In 2007, after the passing of tenor section leader Joseph Mathieu and longtime volunteer bass Robert (Bob) Morse within a short period, a group of donors jointly endowed two memorial chairs for members of the tenor and bass sections. Our Singers Memorial Chairs are Carl Porter and Karl Forsstrom.