Frost Bank unveiled a $2 million philanthropic gift for The Orchestra San Antonio (TOSA) on Wednesday.
Bill Day, the senior vice president for communications, said the gift is something Frost has put a lot of thought into.
“Frost is a long-time supporter of the arts and education here in San Antonio. We believe in making people's lives better, and this gift with The Orchestra San Antonio will do that in two ways,” he said. “First, it will provide wonderful performances of classical and operatic music for San Antonio. But second, the model for The Orchestra San Antonio and its education that it will do, especially for youth, is really important to us.”
TOSA and its parent organization, Classical Music San Antonio (CMI), said they focus on educational outreach.
“The Orchestra San Antonio/CMI itself is built around this model of being more accessible to especially youth and, educating them about not only the history of classical music, but the importance of it,” Day added.
The Orchestra San Antonio is a new symphony. It is not to be confused with The San Antonio Philharmonic, which was largely built from what was left behind when the San Antonio Symphony was dissolved in June 2022.
Frost’s $2 million gift to TOSA will be allotted gradually over time rather than all-at-once.
TOSA CEO Paul Montalvo said in April that TOSA would proceed carefully as its financial resources grew.
“We're starting small. This year it's at around $2.1 million, and next year we're looking at about $2.5 million,” he said. “The goal would be to grow that to let's say by between 2030 and 2032, to grow that between $6 and 7 million.”
Since April, TOSA tried to establish itself culturally and financially. The Frost Bank donation will likely be viewed by other potential donors as a sign that TOSA is a sound investment.
Day said that TOSA’s outreach toward young people helped inspire the bank's gift.
“It's something that keeps kids engaged in school, and scientific research shows, for instance, the number of physicians who have a musical background or business leaders who have a musical background — the organization that it shows the processing of thoughts and critical thinking — those are all important,”
The TOSA performance season begins next April.
