Robert E. Meyerhoff & Rheda Becker Named Lifetime Directors of BSO Board

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) today announced that Baltimore philanthropists Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker have been appointed Lifetime Directors of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Board of Directors.

In recent years, Meyerhoff and Becker have been closely associated with the BSO's flagship community engagement program, OrchKids, providing leadership funding of more than $2M to support the program's continued expansion. In 2012, Meyerhoff and Becker chaired the BSO's Celebration Gala, the Orchestra's largest fundraising and social event, which supports the BSO's education and community outreach programs.

For more than 40 years, Meyerhoff and Becker have been actively engaged in supporting education opportunities for students in the arts and sciences. In 1988, UMBC launched the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, an initiative designed to address the underrepresentation of African-American men in the fields of science and engineering. The scholarship program has now grown to include both male and female students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Since 1974, Rheda Becker has served as the official BSO Narrator at more than 1,500 education concerts and programs at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. She has toured with the Orchestra to East Germany, and prepared regular trip updates for NPR's All Things Considered. For many years, she has also served on the BSO Board's Education Committee.

"Each Life Director has demonstrated distinguished service to the Orchestra and the community," commented BSO Board Chair Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr. "Bob and Rheda, through their lifelong dedication and commitment to education, have had a tremendously positive impact on our community. They have worked tirelessly to create and support programs that improve education opportunities for students and offer pathways to success that will inspire new generations of leaders."