3 minute read
HONOURING A FAMILY LEGACY OF SUPPORTING THE ARTS
BY JILL GIRGULIS
Mary Rozsa de Coquet has been coming to Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra concerts for as long as she can remember. Her late parents, Ted and Lola Rozsa, were longtime supporters of the Orchestra, initially as volunteers and then as philanthropic donors, so she grew up around music and musicians. “They were involved right from the beginning — in fact, even before it was the CPO,” Mary says. Ted and Lola moved to Calgary from Texas in the 1950s, right around the time the Orchestra was first finding its feet. Over the years, Ted and especially Lola became quite close with the CPO musicians.
Advertisement
“They really spent a lot of time on the CPO, so they knew the organization very well, and I think because they were volunteers so early on, and because Mom loved people, they got to know the musicians,” Mary says. “That was really a priority for them. She always called the musicians her ‘kids,’ because she knew many of them when they first started — there were a number who’d been there their whole careers.”
Mary explains how, in those early days, her parents couldn’t afford to support the Orchestra financially, but they found other ways to contribute. “There was no option of giving dollars, but there certainly was the option of attendance, and of course, in turn, raising money,” she says. “They learned the art of fund development before they became the ones who entertained the fund developers, so I think they probably really appreciated the impact of the monies they gave, in a way that you couldn’t if you hadn’t been as involved.” That commitment and generosity had a significant influence on Mary as well. She is President of the Rozsa Foundation, a philanthropic organization that both supports and advocates for the arts in Calgary, continuing the work started by her parents. And thanks to Mary, the legacy of her mother, who passed away in 2012, also lives on through the annual Dr. Lola Rozsa Children’s Concert, which is part of the Symphony Sundays for Kids series that features entertaining and educational concerts created specifically for children. “For her 85th birthday, I gave her a dedicated concert series, so it’s there in perpetuity,” says Mary. “I wanted to honour her — she was one of the women who actually started the children’s concerts, because she just felt it was so important for kids to have the opportunity to actually see an orchestra.”
This Season’s dedicated concert, The Hockey Sweater, takes place in February.
“Usually, unless the content isn’t right, I choose February, because her birthday was February 26th,” Mary says. “For the first couple of years, we had balloons in the foyer when the kids were doing the Instrument Discovery Zoo, and I think they played Happy Birthday, and I tell you, she loved it!”
The CPO’s Associate Conductor, Karl Hirzer, will be conducting the performance, which holds extra significance for Mary because she sponsors his position. “Two years ago, Canada Council for the Arts abruptly cancelled their conductor residency programme,” she says. “This leaves a big hole in an orchestra, because really, an orchestra does not function unless it has an in-house Associate Conductor.”
The Associate Conductor plays a key role in the CPO’s education and outreach performances, and is involved in some Pops shows, the children’s concerts, and other initiatives. “If you don’t do those things, then you lose your community engagement, right?” Mary points out. She offered to support the role until a long-term solution is in place.
“I’m not going to be around forever,” she says. “But in the meantime, it’s such a significant part of how the Orchestra works. And Karl is amazing. He’s so gifted, and he loves the community and getting involved, and he’s everything you would want in an Associate Conductor, so it’s easy to support him. It’s nice that Karl is going to be conducting Mom’s concert — that’s sort of elegant.”
