Symphony officials hope donation will bring in more money
When the sounds of the Santa Monica Symphony come alive for another season, it will be in remembrance of a life-long supporter whose final gift was to ensure the music never stops.
The first concert of the fall, scheduled for Nov. 9 at the Civic Auditorium, will pay tribute to Mary Elizabeth Booth, a former resident and member of the junior symphony who left the nonprofit arts organization more than $100,000 in her will.
Booth died on June 1 at the age of 75 from heart disease. The donation would make up more than 60 percent of the symphony’s yearly budget of approximately $160,000, though the funds will be stored in reserves.
“This is an enormous shot in the arm for an organization that has done so much for this community,” Nat Trives, president of the symphony’s Board of Directors, said.
The endowment will enable the symphony, which debuted in 1945, to continue offering its four to six free concerts a year. But perhaps most importantly, symphony officials hope the sizable donation will raise awareness and popularity of the orchestra.
“Marketing classical music is not easy,” Trives said.
Booth grew up in Santa Monica in the Sunset Park neighborhood, teaching fifth grade in the Los Angeles Unified School District for more than 25 years. Her love for music came from her years with the junior symphony for which she played the oboe and bassoon.
That passion carried on in her teaching career when Booth took her students on field trips to see the opera.
Booth paid for all the trips.
“There weren’t enough funds for education in music at that time,” Susan Davies, Booth’s younger sister, said. “She made sure they understood the opera before they went.”
Booth continued to support the symphony well past her time with the organization, helping to establish a fundraising arm about two decades ago, jump-starting the fund with a contribution of $20,000, according to Donald Brandsen, her successor trustee.
While Booth would eventually contribute more than $130,000 to the symphony, she also made donations to a number of other nonprofits, including religious groups, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Amnesty International.
“She was a very charitable lady and was very active in the community,” Brandsen said.
Davies said the donation to the symphony was hardly a surprise.
“I’m surprised she didn’t leave even more,” she said. “As far as she was concerned, it was the place that money belonged.”
Booth was a regular at concerts, though her presence had decreased over the past year.
Allen Gross, the symphony conductor, said that smaller orchestras in particular benefit from donations made through wills.
363,“I was very touched by her thinking of the symphony,” Gross said. “I certainly hope that others think about the experience the Santa Monica Symphony has given to them as well.”
The organization is funded through donations and grants received from City Hall and the county. The symphony received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts this year.
The concert season runs from November through May every year, attracting anywhere between 1,000 and 1,200 people per concert.
Symphony officials say they hope that Booth’s donation will set an example for the rest of the community.
Jump hedline: Symphony officials hope donation will bring in more money
Suggested pullquote: “This is an enormous shot in the arm for an organization that has done so much for this community.”
Nat Trives
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 3, 2008. Read the original PDF.