Gift goes to Kalamazoo Junior Symphony

The Kalamazoo Gazette reports a former Kalamazoo family and long-time arts supporters have pledged $500,000 to the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra over the next five years.

Dr. John Francis and his wife Linda Francis announced the gift at a recent KJSO concert on at which their daughter Anne Francis was the guest cellist.

Anne Francis, a 1993 graduate of Portage Northern High School, was a member of the KJSO for six years, spent two years with its Prep String Orchestra, and now teaches at Utah State University where she is a member of the Fry Street Quartet.

Two other daughters — Meg Francis Cairns and Mary Francis — also were musicians.

Excerpt:  “The KJSO has given so much to so many young people in Southwest Michigan, and enriched the culture of the entire community, and now it is time for our family to express our deep gratitude to this wonderful organization, its dedicated board, and this generous community, for what it gave our children,” John Francis said at the concert.

For more on the gift, read the rest of the story.

Source: Kalamazoo Gazette