Palm Beach Symphony has named its impactful instrument donation program for the late Todd Barron, a longtime Symphony supporter and the founder and first president of the Young Friends of Palm Beach Symphony.
“Todd was one of the first people who approached me when I joined the Symphony 10 years ago asking what he could do to help,” recalled Palm Beach Symphony CEO David McClymont. “I asked if he would start a support group of young professionals. The Young Friends now has nearly 100 members and that is a small part of Todd’s impact on our organization. When we made the announcement at our recent golf tournament that the program would be renamed in his honor, people immediately donated $16,000 in his memory and to make this program a permanent legacy.”
The Symphony has donated 659 instruments and 1,200 accessories since the program began in 2016. The Symphony accepts donated instruments that are brand-new or gently used from the community and. After completing any necessary repairs to ensure they meet performance standards, they provide these instruments along with any accessories such as bows, reeds and mouth pieces to school music programs in Palm Beach County as well as underserved individual students from pre-kindergarten through high school.
“This season thus far, we have donated a record 189 instruments and 827 accessories,” McClymont said. “We realized that as the program grows, we need the resources to properly repair the instruments. Funds raised for the Todd Barron Instrument Donation Fund will go directly toward putting musical instruments into the hands of promising young musicians.”
In addition to refurbishing instruments, the Todd Barron Instrument Donation Fund will also enable the Symphony to purchase new instruments and accessories on an as needed basis as well as the upper level instruments and accessories for the Symphony’s annual Lisa Bruna B-Major Award for high school seniors who will pursue music as their major in college.
Barron passed January 25 after a long battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, an extremely rare bone and soft tissue cancer. He was extremely active in the community and held the position of president of the executive board of the Boys and Girls Club of Wellington, where he worked tirelessly to bring music into the lives of the club members and lead the creation of a choral program. He also volunteered his time and innate skill as an auctioneer to help raise millions of dollars for local charities including the Maltz Jupiter Theatre; the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County and Wellington; Goodwill Industries; the Transplant Foundation; Mike Schmidt’s Winner’s Circle Charities; and the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
Those interested in donating an instrument may visit the music programs page at PalmBeachSymphony.org or call 561-655-2657 to learn the instruments the program accepts. Those wishing to make a monetary donation to the Todd Baron Instrument Donation Fund may visit https://rb.gy/zdkrtr.
Proud sponsors of Palm Beach Symphony include The Rocco A. and Mary Abessinio Foundation, Cindy Anderson and Jerome Canty, Max and Christine Ansbacher, Jon and Pat Baker, Mrs. James N. Bay, Alan Benaroya, Grace Bender/Dorothy G. Bender Foundation, Arthur & Mara Benjamin Foundation, JoAnne Berkow, Kathy Lee Bickham and John Bickham, Leslie Rogers Blum, Yvonne S. Boice Trust and Alfred Zucaro, Jeffrey and Tina Bolton, James R. Borynack and Adolfo Zaralegui / FINDLAY Galleries, Braman Motorcars, Thomas and Carol Bruce, CIBC Private Wealth, Amy and John Collins, The Colony Hotel, CORPGOV, Suzanne Mott Dansby, The David Minkin Foundation, The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, Willard H. Dow and Kelly Winter, Dr. Richard and Diane Farber, Bill and Kem Frick/The Frick Foundation, Inc., Gerry Gibian and Marjorie Yashar, Morgan Glazar/Tom James Company, Paul and Sandra Goldner, Douglas and Jo Gressette, Steel Grove Capital, Irwin and Janet Gusman, Walter Harper, Thomas E. Harvey & Cathleen P. Black Foundation, Doris Hastings Foundation, Carol S. and Joseph Andrew Hays, John Herrick, Addison Hines Charitable Trust, George Hines, HSS Florida, IPO Edge, Charles and Ann Johnson/The C and A Johnson Family Foundation, Elaine Kay, Leonard and Norma Klorfine Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, Gary and Linda Lachman/The Lachman Family Foundation, Patricia Lambrecht/The Lambrecht Family Foundation, Tova Leidesdorf, Lugano Diamonds, The Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, The McNulty Charitable Foundation, Tish Messinger, David Moscow, NetJets, Palm Beach Design Masters, Patrick and Milly Park/The Park Foundation, Nancy and Ellis J. Parker, III, PNC Private Bank, Lois Pope, Provident Jewelry, Ari Rifkin/The Len-Ari Foundation, Dr. Martha Rodriguez and Dr. Jesus Perez-Mendez, Annette Urso Rickel Foundation, Karen Rogers, Ronald Rosenfeld, David Schafer, Seth Sprague Foundation, Robin B. Smith, Kimberly V. Strauss, Dodie and Manley Thaler and the Thaler/Howell Foundation, Don and Mary Thompson, Jerome and Carol Trautschold, Sieglinde Wikstrom/The Wikstrom Foundation, and The Ann Eden Woodward Foundation/James and Judy Woods. Programs are also sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
