Moore Pledge Launches Festival Endowment

June 28, 2004

Pete and Mary Ann Moore knew there was something special about Helmuth Rilling the first time they met him in 1989.

“Here is this German music conductor, a world-renowned expert on Bach, whom you think would be very stuffy and perhaps a little unapproachable,” Mary Ann recalled. “Instead, he would smile with a twinkle in his eye and ask me, ‘what did you think of the concert?’ He would really want to know.”

“I speak a little German,” commented Pete, who spent a year near Rilling’s home in southern Germany as a senior at the University of Oregon. “He was very generous with my attempts at German conversation. But we connected, and that was the start of a great friendship.”

The connection with maestro Rilling was one of many significant moments that Pete and Mary Ann experienced in a long association as ticket buyers, patrons, and board members of the Oregon Bach Festival, the internationally acclaimed and Grammy Award-winning event of the University of Oregon. The festival’s 35th season opened June 25 and continues through July 11 in Eugene.

At the Patron Dinner Sunday, June 27, the Moores honored their 15-year association with Helmuth Rilling and the festival by pledging $1 million to the university’s Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives.

Their announcement was met instantly with a spontaneous standing ovation from the 540 donors, musicians, staff, and volunteers on hand at the Valley River Inn.

More than 80% of the pledge will be allocated to the festival as it seeks to raise a $10 million endowment, with the balance to support athletics and scholarships.

The festival’s endowment will help to fund in perpetuity the operations of the world-class festival, fueling growth of artistic and educational programs, two key aspects that particularly interest the Moores.

Growing up in Portland, Pete had an early experience with choral music that enabled him to appreciate the level of artistry Rilling would bring to Eugene.

“My choral music teacher at Grant High School, Mrs. Jean Vancil, made music accessible and exciting,” Pete remembers. “The athletes, the scholars–everybody wanted to be in her choir. She gave me an appreciation for choral music.”

Later, the Moores would see Rilling and conductor Anton Armstrong of St. Olaf College having a similar impact on high school singers in the festival’s Youth Choral Academy program, which stands to benefit from the endowment initiative.

Both Pete (BA, ’64, MBA, ’66) and Mary Ann (BA, ’66) have stayed connected to the university. “It contributes to our community’s way of life and it’s such a strong economic engine,” Pete says. And both have actively served on the Oregon Bach Festival board’s development committee. As president of Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Eugene, Pete has seen the business value of concert sponsorship, helping to bring artists such as Thomas Quasthoff and Bobby McFerrin to the festival.

With the retirement of festival executive director Royce Saltzman on the horizon and Rilling advancing in years, planning for transition and the endowment are the highest priorities for the festival and its board of directors. The Moores have stepped up to the challenge not only with their commitment, but also by volunteering to co-chair the endowment drive.

“The festival has made a great contribution to the university and life in Eugene,” Mary Ann said, in announcing their pledge. “With a successful endowment, we can help to ensure those educational, spiritual and musical gifts will continue to bless future generations.”

“The Moores have been wonderful emissaries for the festival within the business community and their network of friends,” said Saltzman. “They have given their time, spread the word about the festival, extended hospitality to artists and VIPs, agreed to serve as our endowment initiative co-chairs, and now are making this pledge. We are very honored and very grateful.”

Referring to a letter he received from Rilling following the September 11 tragedy, Pete told the audience at the June 27 patron event how he has been inspired by the conductor’s belief in music to build bridges between cultures. It’s a value that the donors hope to see continue.

“We care deeply and believe with all our hearts that the Oregon Bach Festival continues to be necessary and relevant to our society and our world.”