The Charlottesville Symphony Society is delighted to announce the establishment of the Richard M. and Tessa G. Ader Endowed Fund for Music Education.  Earnings from this new endowment will support post-pandemic music education programs for youth including Adopt-a-School mini-residencies; James River Boys & Girls Club Violin Instruction; "Preludes" in-school programs; musical instrument petting zoos; sensory-friendly concerts; donated instrument repairs; and private lesson scholarships for UVA student members of the Charlottesville Symphony.  In a normal school year, these and other Symphony music education activities reach approximately 6,300 students in an eleven-county service area.

In creating the fund, Tessa also wished to honor the memory of her late husband, Richard.  “Richard started studying the violin at an early age and played with the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra as a teenager.  The seeds of his lifelong love of classical music were sown and nurtured during those formative years.  He would be very pleased to know that this new endowment will enable the Charlottesville Symphony to increase opportunities for another generation of students to discover and pursue their passion for music.”

Tessa also donated Richard’s refurbished German-made violin for use by a deserving young musician.  It has started its new life in the studio of Charlottesville Symphony Concertmaster Daniel Sender who is broadening the experience of several student violinists in the orchestra by enabling them to play an instrument very different from their own.

Through both of these very generous gifts, the Charlottesville Symphony will actively engage with children in the hope that they, too, will discover the excitement and fun of making live music early in life and derive profound fulfillment from it long into adulthood.