Here’s the song that inspired Taylor Swift to donate $50,000 to the Seattle Symphony
Taylor Swift has been known to give back to her fans, but it seems her generosity reaches far beyond her Swifties.
On Thursday, the superstar made a generous donation of $50,000 to the Seattle Symphony after hearing John Luther Adams’ Pulitzer Prize winning song, “Become Ocean.” The donation came accompanied with a letter addressed to the orchestra’s music director, Ludovic Morlot, praising “the beauty of the composition, the musicianship of the orchestra and reminisc[ing] about going to hear her local symphony with her grandmother,” according to a Seattle Symphony press release.
“I was thrilled to hear that Taylor was moved by ‘Become Ocean,’ like all of us at the Seattle Symphony,” Mr. Morlot said in a statement. “This is a powerful piece with a unique soundscape. We’re especially thankful that she wishes to support our musicians, and that she shares our belief that all people should be able to experience symphonic music.”
The song’s composer, John Luther Adams, was understandably flattered. “I’m delighted,’’ he wrote via email to the New York Times. “Through her generosity and her open ears, Taylor Swift is inviting her fans to experience a new and different kind of music.”
The donation will contribute to Link Up, a music-education program for elementary students, and its musicians’ pensions fund.
This isn’t Swift’s first time contributing to arts-education. Swift previously donated $100,000 to the Nashville Orchestra for her 24th birthday and pledged a whopping $4 million for a new education center at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“We’re especially thankful that she wishes to support our musicians,” Morlot stated, “and that she shares our belief that all people should be able to experience symphonic music.”
That said, who’s ready to become an ocean?
(Image via Vevo)