the OSM Foundation
Major campaign raises over $60 million!
The mandate of the OSM Foundation is to guarantee the long-term success of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal by providing it with the means of fulfilling a vision that will ensure its full development.
The Foundation focuses on three main areas: the long-term success of the Orchestra, its international recognition, as well as the maintenance and development of activities in the community.
Under the presidency of Madame Hélène Desmarais, the OSM Foundation was publicly launched on April 2, 2009, at the Bell Centre on the occasion of a benefit event entitled “Meeting of the Century.” That memorable concert, which took place under the direction of Maestro Kent Nagano before an audience of 15,000, was also conceived to underscore the 75th anniversary of the OSM and the centenary of the Montreal Canadiens hockey club.
The goal of the first phase of the major fundraising campaign was to capitalize in perpetuity $60 million in donations in the OSM Foundation – a goal that was achieved!
The Pierre-Béique Fund, dedicated to the long-lasting success of the Orchestra, was launched on March 8, 1998, at a concert under the direction of Zubin Mehta. Established by Messrs. Pierre Brunet and Paul Desmarais and Senator E. Leo Kolber, the fund was named in honor of the man who served as general manager of the OSM from 1937 to 1970. The amounts invested in this fund are capitalized in perpetuity and protected from inflation. Every year, the foundation pays the Orchestra 3.5% of the average market value of the investments of the previous two years.
Those amounts are devoted to the international reach of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, not only by financing its tours but also by enabling the OSM to invite, every year, the world’s most renowned soloists and conductors. Among other things, these sums have contributed to helping the OSM perform as part of prestigious festivals in New York and Edinburgh (2011) and on two European tours (2009 and 2014).
2016 US TOUR
The 2016 US Tour by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Maestro Nagano was the most recent of many such tours made possible through the support of the Fondation de l’OSM. Running from March 14 to March 26, it was the orchestra’s largest tour of the US since 1989. The tour was a huge success for the OSM, confirming its status as one of the major orchestras of North America and a representative of Montreal’s cultural vitality.
For more information, please see the Fondation de l’OSM 2015-2016 Activities Report.
Created in 2008, the capitalized outreach fund “Branché sur la communauté” has as its goal the holding of annual activities aimed at making the classical orchestral repertoire accessible to the broader Montreal community. As soon as sufficient investment income from this capital became available, free concerts were presented: one in Montreal North (2014), and another on the Olympic Park Esplanade (2015).
Activities in 2016
The Virée classique OSM Couche-Tard has become a hugely popular attraction on the calendar of summer events in Montreal. For the first time during the grand classical music marathon, free outdoor activities were organized on the Parterre of the Quartier des spectacles. The “Branché sur la communauté” fund contributed financially to this outdoor feature, and scores of families, including many from economically and socially vulnerable sectors, were invited to take part.
For more information, please see the Fondation de l’OSM 2015-2016 Activities Report.
Our donors
Fonds Pierre Béique, Fonds Branché sur la communauté, Fonds Maestro
Fonds de capitalisation permanents de la Fondation de l’OSM
10 million and over
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
RIO TINTO ALCAN
5 million and over
ANONYME
POWER CORPORATION DU CANADA
SOJECCI II LTÉE
2 million and over
HYDRO-QUÉBEC
FONDATION J. ARMAND BOMBARDIER
1 million and over
BANQUE NATIONALE GROUPE FINANCIER
BMO GROUPE FINANCIER
FONDATION JEUNESSE-VIE
FONDATION MIRELLA ET LINO SAPUTO
GUILLEVIN INTERNATIONAL CIE
MÉCÉNAT PLACEMENTS CULTURE
RBC FONDATION
SNC-LAVALIN
$500,000 and over
BELL CANADA
NUSSIA & ANDRE AISENSTADT FOUNDATION
$250,000 and over
FONDATION KOLBER
IMPERIAL TOBACCO FOUNDATION
METRO
SUCCESSION MICHEL A.TASCHEREAU
$150,000 and over
ASTRAL MEDIA INC.
CHAUSSURES BROWNS SHOES
BIRKS FAMILY FOUNDATION
COGECO INC.
MEL ET ROSEMARY HOPPENHEIM ET FAMILLE
GUY M. DRUMMOND, Q.C. CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
SUCCESSION LAMBERT-FORTIER
$100,000 and over
ALVIN SEGAL FAMILY FONDATION
MR AND MRS AARON FISH
FONDATION J. LOUIS LÉVESQUE
FONDATION DENISE ET GUY ST-GERMAIN
FONDATION MOLSON
FONDS ERNST PLEINES
LE MOUVEMENT DES CAISSES DESJARDINS
PETRO-CANADA
SEAMONT FOUNDATION
SUCCESSION ROSEMARY BELL
$50,000 and over
ADMINISTRATION PORTUAIRE DE MONTRÉAL
M. EDOUARD D’ARCY
FONDS DE SOLIDARITÉ FTQ
GEORGES C. METCALF CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
OMER DESERRES
MANUVIE
$25,000 and over
M. PIERRE BÉIQUE
FONDATION P.H. DESROSIERS
GUY JORON ET HUGO VALENCIA
$10,000 and over
ASSOCIATION DES MUSICIENS DE L’OSM
ASSOCIATION DES MUSICIENS DE L’OSM 2011-2012
CANIMEX
COPAP INC.
MERCK CANADA INC.
NORTON ROSE CANADA S.E.N.C.R.L.,S.R.L./LLP
M. DAVID SELA
SUCCESSION ROBERT P. GAGNON
With the participation of the Government of Canada
and of the government of Quebec
Board of directors and committees
Founder, Chairman of the Board of the Fondation de l’OSM
HÉLÈNE DESMARAIS, C.M., L.L.D
Centre d’entreprises et d’innovation de Montréal
Chief Executive Officer of the OSM
MADELEINE CAREAU
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Fondation de l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Secretary
CATHERINE SIMARD
Norton Rose Canada S.E.N.C.R.L., s.r.l./LLP
Treasurer
M. EDOUARD D’ARCY
Members
LUCIEN BOUCHARD
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg S.E.N.C.R.L., s.r.l.
JACQUES BOURGEOIS
HEC Montréal
CLAUDE CHAGNON
Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon
MARIE-JOSÉE DESROCHERS
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
PIERRE DUCROS
Ducros et associés
PASCAL DUQUETTE
Fondation HEC Montréal
GUY FRÉCHETTE
ANDREW MOLSON
Groupe conseil RES PUBLICA
JACQUES NANTEL
HEC Montréal
GUYLAINE SAUCIER, C.M., FCA
DAVID B. SELA
Copap Inc.
ROBERT SWIDLER
Robert Swidler & Associates
NATHALIE TREMBLAY
Fondation cancer du sein du Québec
RAYNALD VERMETTE
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Investment Committee
President: Jacques Bourgeois
Members: Mario Delisle, Hélène Desmarais, Maurice Marchon, Édouard D’Arcy
Audit Committee
President: Guy Fréchette
Members: Guylaine Saucier, Édouard D’Arcy
Finance Committee
President: Hélène Desmarais
Members: Madeleine Careau, Édouard d’Arcy
Donor relations Committee
President: Nathalie Tremblay
Marketing Committee
President: Jacques Nantel
The Fondation de l’OSM wishes to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of the late Mr. Pierre Brunet to the organisation.
Policies and by-laws (in French only):
Transparent policy regarding the use of the collected funds
Reports (in French only):
Coming soon: summarized financial statements
The OSM at Chicago Symphony Center (Orchestra Hall) on March 18, 2016
Kent Nagano, Maria João Pires and the musicians of the OSM at Carnegie Hall on March 15, 2016
Contact us : 514-840-7425