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LA Phil Inside - Fall 2007

In This Issue:

PHILANTHROPY AND THE ARTS

The Art of Giving

Mark DalzellMark Dalzell

A Conversation with Music Patron and LA Phil Board Member Mark Dalzell

From his 15th-floor office in West L.A., where he works as a Senior VP for the global investment firm Capital Research Company, Mark Dalzell looks out toward downtown Los Angeles.

On a clear day in September, the view provides a breathtaking perspective on his adopted city, but the Pittsburgh native who has steeped himself in local history can't help pointing out that no single view in Los Angeles can take in a city so vast and so rich in diversity and human potential.

Still in his early 50s, Mark Dalzell is already an exceptionally generous supporter of music and education in Los Angeles and an ardent liaison for the Philharmonic's community programs. Educated at Princeton University and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Mark lived in New York for six years, and London for thirteen before putting down roots in L.A.

Though he is modest about his personal contributions, what Mark and other heavily engaged board members are doing behind the scenes is central to the mission of the Philharmonic, and is helping to shape the future of cultural philanthropy in Los Angeles.

INSIDE had the privilege of a recent chat with Mark during a break in a very busy day.

INSIDE: LA Phil Board membership carries a number of responsibilities not widely known, from personal donations and soliciting contributions from peers, to working long hours on committees that oversee the financial health and artistic development of the organization. What is your motivation to give so much to the Philharmonic?

Dalzell: I'm a civic-minded person, and I think of the Philharmonic as a very important civic organization. Though I don't believe I've ever stated it this way, it's very much the cultural equivalent of a major sports team in its ability to galvanize and inspire a city. The Philharmonic has a history of reaching out to involve people in all walks of life in what has traditionally been viewed as an elitist art form. It has a reputation for taking on very young talent, and of raising the stature of both the orchestra and its conductors in the process. It's an adventurous organization in an environment often regarded as conservative or even staid, and it has successfully taken risks — I'm impressed by that!

INSIDE: How did you come to be involved with the Philharmonic?

Dalzell: I started subscribing to Hollywood Bowl concerts in 2000, then followed the Philharmonic as they moved into Walt Disney Concert Hall, subscribing to the first season there, and joining the Board of Overseers very soon afterward. I was pleasantly surprised by an invitation to join the Board in 2005. A longstanding Capital associate of mine, Bob Egelston, was in the process of retiring from the Philharmonic's Board when I was asked to dinner with Deborah Borda and Chairman of the Board Jerry Eberhardt and his wife at the Founders at Disney Hall. I was very impressed. It probably helped that I was also a Capital Research associate. You might say my coming onboard was a combination of my prior involvement, my company's desire to keep someone on the Board, and the LA Phil's desire to have someone like me on the Board.

INSIDE: What is unique about what you bring to the Board and your committee assignments?

Dalzell: I spread my interests around somewhat. I run a 'diversified portfolio' of community-related interests. The Phil is at one end of the spectrum as a prominent cultural organization in the city. I'm also involved [as Chairman of the Board] in a charter school called Camino Nuevo located in an area west of downtown called Pico-Union. I have an ongoing interest in linking up charter schools in Los Angeles with the music education programs of the Philharmonic, and in building bridges between organizations. These engagements are complementary, and bring more to my contribution to the Phil's Community Engagement Committee. I think people like me who are involved in the community have an opportunity — you could also say a responsibility — to do these kind of link-ups. They're good for the Philharmonic and they're good for music.

INSIDE: You recently made a generous contribution to the LA Phil Endowment Fund. What is the philosophy behind your philanthropy, and how do you encourage it among your peers?

Dalzell: For me, it's largely a function of personal growth that comes with age.

When you're totally absorbed in your career, as many people are in their 20s and 30s, you're less likely to give because you're less likely to be involved. As you get older and more settled, you become more focused on the need for community involvement. I admire people who began this process much earlier than I did. The real turning point for me was settling in Los Angeles ten years ago. I wanted to get involved in the community, to learn more about Los Angeles, and I thought getting involved was the best way of going about it. I actually started off with the concept of "community involvement" leading to philanthropy, rather than the idea of going out there and passing money around.

There has to be a purpose to giving. Money can accomplish things; well-directed money can accomplish even better things; but it all begins with personal involvement. The money follows almost naturally. In both my personal and business life, I come in contact with a lot of younger people are who still very much wrapped up in their careers and their families, and have a limited amount of time for other pleasures even when they are right on their doorstep. I make it a point to invite them to Philharmonic events to expose them to the enjoyment and, ultimately, personal fulfillment they will experience by becoming involved in this medium.

INSIDE: You mentioned following the Philharmonic into Walt Disney Concert Hall. Do you feel the Hall has changed the orchestra's relationship with the city?

Dalzell: I have an interest in ballet and opera, and in symphonic music now, and I'm personally very fond of the Hall. I think architecture helps to galvanize the community to do things.

INSIDE: Does this describe what you do on the Board?

Dalzell: Yes, it does! One of our goals on the Community Engagement Committee is to reinstate an Advisory Council to bring people who are musically inclined into a closer affiliation with us, people who might not otherwise be engaged by an organization like the Philharmonic. Pico-Union is one example of an area where we are doing this — an underserved but difficult-to-ignore community where we have pinpointed some of our educational efforts. A big part of what I try to do for the Philharmonic is to participate in developing relationships like these, to advise people who ultimately make the decisions, being careful to help the community without jeopardizing the Philharmonic's limited resources. I think the Philharmonic has done a good job of surrounding itself with people like myself, to ensure that it's in tune with the city's business, financial, and community realities.

INSIDE: What approach do you take in building these relationships or bridges between business people and the arts?

Dalzell: I'm on the Board, I believe, very much on my own recognizance [laughs], but I also view myself as a liaison between the Philharmonic and my associates at the Capital Group. I try to keep my associates at Capital plugged into what's going on at the Philharmonic. We recently reserved about fifty seats for a Philharmonic performance for Capital associates and their spouses. An evening at Walt Disney Concert Hall is a powerful form of outreach, but it's also a long-term investment.

INSIDE: We understand you traveled a lot over the summer. Did you manage to see many performances at the Bowl this season?

Dalzell: Actually, I managed to do all my traveling before the Bowl season. I'm pretty conscious of when the Bowl season begins, and if I can possibly avoid conflicts like that, I do.

INSIDE: Any favorites from the summer season?

Dalzell: I saw Diavolo dance Esa-Pekka Salonen's Foreign Bodies. That was very special, as was the concert performance of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with the Mariinsky Theater soloists.

INSIDE: You will be traveling with the Philharmonic to Paris on the upcoming European tour. What are you looking forward to most?

Dalzell: I enjoy the idea of taking part in cultural diplomacy, which I believe our tours exemplify. And I want to see how foreign — in this case Parisian — audiences respond to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. We think what we're doing here is pretty nifty. I want to see what they think of it!