Billionaire industrialist and philanthropist Henry Hillman made the gift in memory of his late wife of 70 years, Elsie
PRINCETON -- Rider University's Westminster Choir College has been awarded a $1 million gift for an endowment fund that will help bolster its touring performances.
Billionaire industrialist and philanthropist Henry Hillman made the gift in memory of his late wife of 70 years, Elsie, who died in August and would have turned 90 on Dec. 9.
"Elsie had great devotion to Westminster Choir College having attended it and given her family's longstanding connection to the school," Hillman said. "She believed that traveling performances by the Westminster Choir were not only beneficial to its student members, but were a wonderful way to bring further recognition to the Choir and to Rider University."
Elsie Hillman's grandmother, Katharine Houk Talbott, was the first major benefactor of Westminster Choir College. Elsie studied at Westminster in the late 1940s.
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The Henry L. Hillman Foundation has supported other projects, including the Elsie Hilliard Hillman Chair for Artistic Direction, endowed scholarships, technology renewal on campus and most recently, a $3 million gift toward the Marion Buckelew Cullen Center. Inside, the 3,000-square-foot performance and rehearsal hall was named the Hillman Performance Hall.
The Westminster Choir's 2015-2016 season includes performances and broadcasts at its home in Princeton and its annual residency at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, S.C.
Each January, the choir goes on a two-week tour, putting on concerts and leading workshops at area high schools. The ensemble's upcoming tour will make stops in Boston, Long Island, N.Y., Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., and Greensboro, N.C. The tour culminates Jan. 25 at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton.
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