Leaving a Legacy of Music

by Laura E. McBride, Rennolds Society Member

In 1994, I was working on a catering event for my brother at the Carpenter Center during the ‘Messiah’ concert.  The room we were setting up was also used for the chorus warm up session, which was my first encounter with the Richmond Symphony. Unbeknownst to me, my brother found the chorus manager and asked how I could audition for the group.  Several months later she contacted me, and I got in!  

Over the years I had the opportunity to represent the chorus on the Development Committee of the Richmond Symphony where I learned just how important private donations are for the health and wellbeing of the symphony family.

I was a faithful member of the chorus from Fall 1995 until I moved to Florida in the Spring of 2018.  My brother and the chorus were the two things that were the most difficult to leave behind.  When COVID hit, the chorus began to rehearse via Zoom, so I contacted Barb Baker who manages the chorus and asked if I could participate.  I was allowed to join the group for one more season.  The chorus has given me a true gift through sharing in the incredible music Erin Freeman brings out of us.

Because of that gift, I decided to give back to the organization that has meant so much to me. I included the Symphony Foundation’s James Erb Choral Chair Fund as a beneficiary of my retirement plan assets. We hope this step might help continue the Symphony Chorus’s wonderful contributions for years to come.