Toronto Symphony Orchestra receives historic donation from estate of H. Thomas and Mary Beck

Gustavo Gimeno, the music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, leads a rehearsal at Roy Thomson Hall, in Toronto, on May 4.Ammar Bowaihl/The Globe and Mail

The dulcet sound heard at Monday’s annual general meeting of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra was the announcement of a $14.7-million donation from the estate of H. Thomas and Mary Beck. It is the largest gift ever made to the organization, surpassing the $10-million from the estate in 2019.

“The Beck family’s long-standing commitment to this city has been exemplified by their unwavering support of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and our mission to serve this community with extraordinary and meaningful musical experiences,” orchestra CEO Mark Williams said in the lobby of Roy Thomson Hall.

The windfall from the Beck family brings their donation total to the TSO to more than $50-million over an extensive history with the orchestra.

Because the TSO celebrated its centennial this past year, the ambitious 2022-23 season was an expensive one. The orchestra’s first tour under the leadership of Spanish conductor and music director Gustavo Gimeno took them to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, Chicago’s Symphony Center and, for the first time since 2011, New York’s Carnegie Hall.

About $1.8-million of the $14.7-million donation was used to offset costs, resulting in a surplus of approximately $30,000. The remaining $12.9-million was transferred to the Toronto Symphony Foundation to be invested.

The Beck family’s relationship with the orchestra dates back to the 1950s, when newlyweds Tom and Mary Beck began attending TSO concerts. They eventually became subscribers and donors.

The couple had met in Toronto shortly after immigrating from Europe. In 1963, the Becks started a business that would become Noma Industries Ltd., one of North America’s leading manufacturers of electrical equipment and an iconic brand of Christmas lights.

Mr. Beck, who died in 2016, served as a TSO board member for 22 years, including a stint as chair in the 1980s. His wife, who died in 2018, was well known to the musicians, hosting many of them at the family home over the years. In 2008, they endowed the Tom Beck Concertmaster Chair, and, in 2015, the orchestra showed its appreciation by making Mr. Beck one of its first honorary musicians.

Their three children carry on the tradition of supporting the orchestra. Catherine Beck has chaired the TSO board of directors since 2016. In recognition of the family’s generosity, two new endowments have been established to support the TSO: the Cathy and Liddy Beck Principal Oboe Chair and the Beck Family Chief Executive Officer.

The 100th-anniversary season began with an open house and free concert at Roy Thomson Hall and concluded with an outdoor show at Harbourfront Centre on Canada Day. In between, the TSO returned to its ancestral building for a sold-out concert at Massey Hall, where Tom and Mary Beck first attended the orchestra’s performances more than 60 years ago.