Music festival receives $3.7 million bequest

A US music festival has announced a $3.7 million (€3.4m) bequest from a local resident.

Patricia Crawford Brown, who died aged 90 in May, left the donation to the Bowdoin International Music Festival – an annual summer music school and concert series – of which she was a trustee.

The gift is the largest in the festival’s 60-year history and will establish a fund to support student scholarships. Earnings from the fund will supplement the nearly $600,000 in scholarships awarded annually, further enabling young musicians from around the world to study at the music institute in Brunswick, Maine.

“Bequests provide a unique opportunity to do meaningful and perpetual good for a cherished cause”

“Bequests provide a unique opportunity to do meaningful and perpetual good for a cherished cause,” says Daniel Nitsch, executive director of the festival. “Pat chose to make arts education her legacy, building opportunities for future generations of young musicians. Her steadfast belief that everyone deserves a quality education, regardless of finances, inspires us all.”

Born in Long Beach, CA, Brown spent her career in book and magazine publishing before retiring to Brunswick with her husband in 2001. Her love of the arts led her to the Bowdoin International Music Festival, where she was honoured in 2023 for her work raising scholarship funds for young musicians.

The mission of the not-for-profit organisation is to prepare gifted young musicians from around the world for a life in music through study with world-class artists, and to present classical music in concerts throughout Midcoast Maine at the highest artistic standards.

Regular performers include the Ying Quartet, Yefim Bronfman, Paul Katz, Brentano Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Emanuel Ax and Glenn Dicterow.

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