The Cleveland Orchestra will receive a $50 million grant from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, the largest gift in the history of the 103-year-old music organization.
The orchestra said Thursday that $31.5 million will be dedicated to its endowment, the orchestra's financial foundation and supporting an opera and humanities festival.
Severance Hall, the orchestra's home since 1931 and named after John L. Severance, will be renamed the Severance Music Center. The orchestra's performance space will be named the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Concert Hall. The center also includes Reinberger Chamber Hall.
The gift is the largest in the history of the 68-year-old Mandel Foundation.
“The musicians and audiences will feel the benefits of the Mandel Foundation’s gift almost immediately, starting with the upgrades to the building which will allow us to continue capturing video for our digital offerings,” music director Franz Welser-Möst said in a statement.
Brothers Jack N. Mandel, Joseph C. Mandel and Morton L. Mandel purchaed an auto parts business from their uncle, Jacob Mandel, in 1940 and formed Premier Automotive Supply Co., later Premier Industrial Corp.
