Chicago Symphony Orchestra Receives $50 Million Gift

The Zell family has donated an additional $50 million to the orchestra’s association to secure its long-term financial stability

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has received a landmark $50 million gift from Helen and the late Sam Zell on behalf of the Zell Family Foundation (ZFF). 

This donation is one of nearly 200 gifts made to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association’s (CSOA) ongoing SEMPRE ALWAYS capital campaign, which was launched in 2020 with a significant leadership gift from the ZFF. 

Chaired by Helen Zell, SEMPRE ALWAYS was established to ensure CSOA’s financial security, and to support the CSO’s 134-year tradition of musical excellence and community outreach. Its funds now total $215 million. 

The ZFF’s recent gift will support musician and staff retirement benefits, the CSO’s touring activities, special CSO artistic projects, and digital content initiatives for marketing and promotion. 

Zell has held various leadership roles with the CSOA over the years, beginning in 2007 as a Board of Trustees member, and later as the first woman CSOA board chair, which involved two consecutive three-year terms between 2015 and 2020. She also served as chair of the CSOA Music Director Search Committee which recommended the appointment of Klaus Mäkelä as CSO’s 11th music director in April 2024. 

Additionally, she serves as president of the ZFF, which has also supported educational institutions, Jewish-related organizations, culture, health, public policy, and social services.

“As an avid supporter of the arts, I understand the importance of philanthropy in filling the gap between earned revenue and operating expenses,” Zell said in the press release. “The generosity of donors will ensure the long-term sustainability of our great cultural institutions that add vitality and beauty to our lives and communities.” Zell added, “I’ve been a champion of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years, and I think about this gift as an investment in preserving the CSO’s future.” 

“We are honored and deeply grateful to receive this extraordinary gift from Helen and Sam Zell on behalf of the Zell Family Foundation,” added CSOA President Jeff Alexander. “We celebrate their strong philanthropic vision that paves the way for a bright future for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and all the ensembles it supports and programs it delivers,” he continued. “Helen’s exceptional dedication to the association and to the SEMPRE ALWAYS campaign has inspired donors from across the CSOA family to add their support for the music that they love and the activities that enrich the lives of so many people in Chicago, across the U.S., and around the world.” 

“I am enormously inspired by Helen Zell’s passionate devotion to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,” Mäkelä expressed. “We immediately connected at our first meeting and since then have shared many conversations about the essential need to maintain the legacy of this great Orchestra, which she has supported so generously in the past and with this incredible new gift.”