Pasadena Symphony receives $500,000 matching gift

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The Pasadena Symphony Assn., which has been struggling financially during the past few years, announced on Saturday that it has received a $500,000 matching gift from the organization’s Women’s Committee. The orchestra said that the gift is a combination of a $400,000 gift from the late Beebe Oliver Nuetzman and $100,000 from proceeds of the committee’s 2010 Holiday Look In Home Tour.

Orchestra leaders said that all new and increased gifts and pledges raised by the end of the fiscal year, which falls on Sept. 30, will be matched one-to-one with the gift.

Founded in 1957, the Women’s Committee of the Pasadena Symphony Assn. helps to support the orchestra through its annual Holiday Look In Home Tour, which offers visitors a chance to view homes in the Pasadena area that have been decorated for the holiday season by prominent floral designers.

The orchestra said that Nuetzman will be honored in all classics concert programs during the next five seasons as a sponsor of all instrumental and vocal soloists.

A $500,000 ceremonial check was presented to the Pasadena Symphony Assn. at a concert Saturday at the Ambassador Auditorium by members of the Women’s Committee.

In 2007, the financially troubled Pasadena Symphony and Pops organizations merged. Since then, the combined organization has seen the departure of two of its longtime conductors, Jorge Mester and Rachael Worby. Pasadena is one of several mid-size orchestras around the country trying to cope with money problems, stemming in part from the recession.

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-- David Ng