One of the most meaningful ways supporters can invest in the future of the Cabrillo Festival is through legacy giving. These extraordinary acts of generosity help ensure that contemporary orchestral music continues to thrive long into the future.
We are profoundly grateful to every individual who has included the Festival in their estate plans. Through our New Music Forever Endeavor program, these gifts help build the Artistic Initiative Reserve Fund (AIR Fund), allowing future generations of artists and audiences to experience bold new music while providing the stability needed to navigate an ever-changing funding landscape. Legacy gifts are, in many ways, investments in the composers whose work has yet to be written and the audiences who have yet to discover it.
It is with immense gratitude that we share news of a transformational bequest from longtime supporter Gabrielle Stocker. Below is a statement from Cabrillo Festival Executive Director, D. Riley Nicholson.
“Gabrielle Stocker was a longtime Festival subscriber and donor, a consistent, warm, and kind presence for many decades. Her love of music was palpable, both in her enduring support of our music and in her own musicality as a recorder, crumhorn, and viola da gamba player. As a Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary music enthusiast, her musical palate was broad. Not only was she an annual donor, but also was a commissioner––in 2012, she helped co-commission Hidden World of Girls: Stories for Orchestra, dedicating her gift in honor of her daughter Carol and granddaughters Erin, Ananda, and Adinda.
The Festival’s “New Music Forever Endeavor” giving program delineates that, unless otherwise designated, legacy gifts go to the Artistic Initiative Reserve Fund (AIR Fund), an investment fund that supports special artistic initiatives and the long-term vitality and health of the Festival’s mission. This fund is separate from our general budget; our board can annually approve a percentage draw, allowing us to be creatively ambitious while maintaining the security and stability we need to support our artists for many years to come.
Gabrielle’s gift via the Allaria Trust comes at a time when institutional funding is volatile, Federal support has effectively ended, attacks on creative and free speech are increasing, and there is much uncertainty in the world around us. So, the timing of this gift makes it especially and robustly meaningful—allowing us to continue with confidence despite the disruptive dynamics of the moment.
Through this incredible gift and her lifetime of giving, Gabrielle Stocker’s legacy is now intertwined with the legacy of the Cabrillo Festival. The gift is not only meaningful today, but for decades to come; we are honored with the responsibility to steward our resources to make sure our music, and by extension Gabrielle’s legacy, has meaningful impact and longevity. That is true for everyone who has made planned gifts; Gabrielle’s gift joins other noteworthy bequests in the last decade, including substantial gifts from Lana Weeks, Richard Weeks, Gayle and Scott Spencer, and Marion Taylor.
We are also thrilled to be part of a cohort of like-minded organizations that Gabrielle’s legacy is impacting, including New Music Works, Santa Cruz Chamber Players, and Ensemble Monterey. I am so touched by what this means for the health and longevity of the local musical community at large, helping secure Santa Cruz as a bastion for creative thought and cultural practice. We are in awe of Gabrielle’s generosity and impact, both during her life and for many decades to come through this extraordinary gift to our community.”
