Great Seeing You! Annual Legacy Circle Luncheon Recap

Our annual Legacy Circle Luncheon at the Algonquin Golf Club in June was a vibrant and engaging event, with more than 80 members in attendance. The afternoon began with a warm welcome from our new Chief Philanthropy Officer Alex Shapiro, followed by a delightful performance by a string quartet featuring: Bjorn Ranheim, Beth Guterman Chu, Eva Kozma, and Kristin Ahlstrom. The quartet played two lively pieces by Antonin Dvořák and graciously answered questions from attendees about their musical journeys and adapting to various performance venues.

SLSO President and CEO, Marie-Hélène Bernard provided an insightful perspective on the past season and the exciting progress of Powell Hall’s renovation and expansion. Legacy Circle members engaged with questions on construction timelines, parking logistics, and an external consultancy’s insights on generational giving and attendance patterns.

We wrapped up the afternoon with impressive statistics about our Legacy Circle members’ contributions, subscriptions, and volunteerism. We also honored the members we have lost since last year’s luncheon.

New for You: Whiskey, Wine, Wills, and Wealth Summits

For the 24/25 season we are pleased to offer a new lineup of programs exclusively for Legacy Circle members and their families. This year’s offerings include engaging whisky and wine tastings paired with expert-led discussions on estate planning, tax changes, and maintenance schedules from top estate planning legal teams in St. Louis. Additionally, we are hosting free virtual webinars for our Millennial and GenX patrons, featuring financial advisors who will guide them on planning for generational wealth transfers. Stay tuned for more details and invitations as we finalize dates and locations. 

In Good Company: The Knowles-McIntire Family’s Legacy of Giving

The SLSO recently spoke with Lesley McIntire and her son, William McIntire, about their family’s multi-generational relationship with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Lesley’s parents, William, and Lesley (“Nancy”) Knowles, as well her aunt, Adelaide (“Jabber”) Cherbonnier, were longtime subscribers and donors to the SLSO, who passed on their passion for music and philanthropy. Lesley, now retired, was a history teacher at MICDS. William is an adjunct professor of philosophy at Webster University.  

How did your parents, Nancy and Bill, and your aunt, Jabber, become interested in classical music? 

Lesley: My mom and Jabber grew up taking piano lessons. My parents bought an upright piano for the house when I was probably six or seven, and I remember my mom playing Chopin etudes on it. I don’t really know how my father came to classical music, [but]…music was certainly a form of relaxation for him. As long as I can remember, my parents were subscribers to the symphony. It was always something they really enjoyed, and it nurtured them in a lot of ways.  

How did you become involved in music and the SLSO?  

Lesley: Growing up, there were always classical music records playing in our house. It would be Hayden one day and Beethoven another, and some of the first records that I had on my little record player were Tchaikovsky ballets like Sleeping Beauty. And I remember that when we got sick and had to stay home from school, Mom always played Peter and the Wolf. As soon as I moved back to St. Louis, I started going to the symphony with my parents. And by the mid ’70s, I had become a subscriber and have remained a subscriber ever since. 

William: [My grandparents] always had music on in the background whenever I was over at their house, and I was frequently at their house. And I guess my love for orchestral music really became colored by my love for my grandparents. When my grandparents [got old enough that they] didn’t want to drive themselves to the symphony anymore, I would drive them. They’d treat me to dinner and free concerts. I lived in Europe for grad school, and the first thing I did when I moved back in 2016 was subscribe.  

How has music enriched your lives?  

Lesley: Music speaks to me on an emotional level. And I think music can be transcendent in moments of joy and in moments of great sadness. I remember that when my father was dying, my mom found great comfort in a piece of music, a St. Cecilia Mass. [At a concert] there’s something very unifying about being there, all of us together, having this shared experience. You can hear a performance one night and then the next night, it’ll be subtly a little different. That’s part of what keeps you going to the symphony. It’s a transformational moment when the orchestra and the conductor and everybody’s together.  

Why do you think that your parents and aunt decided to support the SLSO so generously through our annual fund and through their planned gift?

Lesley: I think that Jabber felt that the St. Louis community needed to have a vibrant arts community, and organizations like the symphony were key to that. For my parents, I think it’s somewhat the same, but they also had a strong feeling of giving back to the community. They had received a lot, and they wanted to give back to things that they cared about and believed in.  

Tell us about your desire to continue your family’s legacy of giving.  

William: My grandparents instilled in me a desire to contribute more by example rather than explicitly. I just feel it’s a duty to continue their legacy in honor of multiple generations and their beneficence. Lesley: I echo a lot of what Billy says, and I also think that a lot of what I have received from them, I didn’t do a lot to earn, but I can use it to give back. I would certainly give to the symphony regardless, because I feel like it’s such an important cultural and educational institution, but I also feel like in supporting things that I know that they cared about, it’s a way of remembering them.