City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra receives £500,000 gift

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has received one of the largest single gifts in its history from the Rachel Baker Memorial Charity.

The funding of up to £500,000 over five years will support the CBSO’s work as it moves towards its centenary in 2020.

The money will allow the orchestra to present major concerts and further develop its outreach work.

CBSO director of development Simon Fairclough said: ‘Having recently appointed Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as our Music Director we are at an exciting moment in our history. But we receive 51% less funding from Birmingham City Council in real terms than we did six years ago, and to achieve our ambitious plans with Mirga we will have to raise well over £1 million per year from the private sector.

‘Now more than ever, private funders like the Rachel Baker Memorial Charity play a vital role in maintaining the international excellence of the CBSO’s work on the concert platform, in our local community and around the world.’