$10 million gift to symphony orchestra from Roger Sant

The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) announced that long-time Board member Roger Sant has pledged an additional $10 million towards the NSO’s endowment, marking the largest individual gift in the Orchestra’s history and bringing Sant’s lifetime giving to more than $35 million, a portion of which funds the naming of the Music Director Chair for Roger Sant and Congresswoman Doris Matsui. This gift launches the NSO’s efforts to grow their endowment to $100 million by 2031, the orchestra’s 100th anniversary.

Roger Sant on his gift: “Leaving these legacy gifts to the National Symphony Orchestra is an expression of our profound love for the NSO and its gifted musicians. My wife, Doris, and I are grateful to the creation of the Roger Sant and Congresswoman Doris Matsui Chair, dedicated to the NSO Music Director. Our hope is that this chair will amplify the NSO’s capacity to inspire and enrich our community through the transformative power of music.”

At the annual Board Meeting on June 7, 2024, new leadership positions were announced. Joan Bialek, Founder and CEO of Bialek Environments, one of the area’s leading design, contract furniture, audio-visual, and prefabricated interior construction companies, was elected as Chair. Bialek succeeds Ronald Abramson who helped steer the Orchestra through the pandemic and has underwritten the cost of tickets to bring hundreds of students to the NSO. Abramson has served on the Board for 10 years, five years as Chair, and will continue to be an active Board member.

Jo Ann Jenkins, current CEO of AARP, the largest non-profit, nonpartisan membership organization, was elected as Vice Chair. Christina Co Mather serves as the chair of the NSO’s DEIAB Committee and is an advocate for the arts, education, victim rights, and health and will serve on the NSO Board of Trustees as Secretary. Tom Green, a nationally recognized trial lawyer and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, serves as Treasurer. Additionally, two new positions were created for the purpose of continuity on the board: Ashley Davis, the lead principal at West Front Strategies, a multi-million dollar lobby firm, will be the Assistant Secretary, and Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, will be the Assistant Treasurer.