Hearing the Music Come to Life

Many young musicians dream of performing at the great halls around the world while inspiring those around them with beautiful music. For Mical Brenzel as a young clarinetist, that was not the case.

"I was first chair, only because I was the only one who practiced," she says jokingly.

She soon realized her love of music was not in playing, but listening, and before long, she turned in her clarinet for tickets to orchestral and chamber performances.

Today, Mical no longer sits in first chair but in the audience at Davies Symphony Hall. To her, it's the perfect seat.

CONNECTED, INSPIRED
A longtime subscriber, donor and volunteer, Mical feels her involvement with the Symphony has strengthened her connection with the music. She's met many of the players and regularly attends symphony lectures with her husband, Jim, an amateur pianist.

Learning about music and hearing it at Davies Symphony Hall makes it come alive, Mical says. Pieces she's heard many times in recordings, such as Handel's Messiah or Ravel's Boléro, became more vivid, more riveting when heard in the Hall.

A retired corporate treasurer, Mical's financial expertise attracted her to our Gift Planning Committee. She also volunteers on our Youth Orchestra Committee after many years of supporting her son, Daniel, in his pursuits as a pianist and singer. She enjoys seeing a new generation of musicians develop their talents and discover the social rewards of producing music with others.

When making a gift, it's important to choose an organization that is not only functioning well now but has the staying power to be just as viable, just as important in the future.

"The arts are the best that man produces," Mical says. "It represents the ultimate sense of being human - to create, to make something beautiful."

Mical has named the Symphony as a beneficiary of her IRA. She sees it as a tax-savvy way to give to an organization she believes in.

"It's a very efficient way of having money go out of your estate and into the greater good," she says.

Gifts to our endowment translate to up to 20 percent of the Symphony's operating budget for stellar performances and music education year after year.