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MPR News Staff

MN Orchestra announces major gift from its musicians

Principal cellist Tony Ross with a student
Minnesota Orchestra principal cellist Tony Ross worked with students from the youth symphony in Havana, Cuba earlier this year.
Nate Ryan | Classical MPR/Minnesota Orchestra

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The Minnesota Orchestra on Wednesday announced a $250,000 gift — from its own musicians.

The money, which will go to establish a fund in support of community outreach, comes from the proceeds that musicians earned during their 16-month lockout, which ended in 2014.

The musicians performed a series of public concerts during the lockout. Funds came in from those concerts, as well as in donations from private individuals and performers with other orchestras.

The money was held by a 501(c)(3) charitable organization called Minnesota Orchestra Musicians, which the musicians now plan to dissolve. A release from the orchestra said the money will be used to create the "Bellwether Fund ... to support education and community programming." Musicians will help direct the use of the fund.

The musicians' gift was announced at the orchestra's annual meeting, where orchestra officials also announced that the organization had ended its fiscal year with an operating surplus of $15,000. Its overall budget for Fiscal 2015 was $31.1 million.