A major contribution to accessibility to symphonic music
This donation was made official last night during the season-opening concert conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Maison symphonique de Montréal.
This exceptional donation, the first of this magnitude dedicated to the OM’s endowment fund, represents a historic milestone for the Orchestra in philanthropy. Enshrining an inclusive, sustainable, and intergenerational vision of culture, this donation is central to the OM’s 2025–2031 strategic plan, which aims to ensure the sustainability of its artistic activities and organizational development. It will play a structuring and decisive role in the Orchestra’s accessibility mission.
Symphonic music: a common good and a cultural heritage
Alex Ionescu’s immense generosity will allow the deployment of activities where the Orchestre Métropolitain will reach out to all Montrealers, breaking down barriers to access to culture, for today and for tomorrow. The OM will strengthen its presence in the region with the desire to expand and diversify its audiences, placing the values of accessibility, proximity, and transmission at the center of its action.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a shining diamond, an internationally renowned artist who remains deeply Québécois and attached to Montreal. I identify with this strong connection to the metropolis and this idea of giving back to our city.
Alex Ionescu, OVI Fund – Ionescu Family Foundation
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This exceptional gift allows us to do what music does best: bring people together, move them, and transform them. The OVI Fund’s sustained commitment and Alex Ionescu’s remarkable generosity ensure that we can dream bigger and continue to open the arms of the Orchestre Métropolitain to all Montrealers, to see our music accessible to everyone, even beyond the walls of the concert hall, and become a true common good
— Yannick Nézet-Séguin, directeur artistique et chef principal de l’OM
Alex Ionescu’s commitment to future generations and the entire Montreal population – children and low-income adults alike – will enable accessible concerts to be held in several boroughs.
This support will finance and sustain urban tours that promote community collaborations and the democratization of symphonic music. Brought together under the Ionescu Family Series and in collaboration with the CAM on tour, this program notably includes Symphonic Sortilèges , under the direction of the young conductor Naomi Woo, presented in Pierrefonds on October 29, the following day in Pointe-Claire and at the Maison de la culture Mercier on November 2. These OM concerts are highly affordable with tickets ranging from $18 to $24 only.
This commitment from the OVI Fund also allows for free outdoor concerts, including the major Montreal event of the OM at the foot of Mount Royal .
This donation is more than a philanthropic gesture: it’s a promise for the future. It allows us to dream of music that circulates freely, that invites itself into parks, streets, hearts. Thanks to the OVI Fund, the Orchestre Métropolitain pays tribute to the creators of the OM by placing accessibility at the center of its mission, and takes care to nurture a cultural heritage for all generations.
Fabienne Voisin, President and CEO of the OM
This is a historic turning point for our Orchestra: Alex Ionescu’s gesture helps us build a bright and inclusive future for symphonic music. The OVI Fund represents a key player in Montreal’s cultural development, and this exceptional donation calls for commitment from all patrons.
Catherine Doyle, Director of Philanthropic and Strategic Development at the OM
The OVI Fund – Ionescu Family Foundation: a lever for cultural transformation in Montreal
A young, visionary philanthropist of Romanian descent, Alex Ionescu is a first-generation immigrant. After spending a decade in Silicon Valley and Seattle, his family returned to Montreal, their adopted city, with their daughter Olivia. Today, they are determined to give back to the community that welcomed them and saw them grow up. This desire drives their philanthropic commitment as they actively support various cultural projects.
The OVI Fund – Ionescu Family Foundation thus acts as a lever for cultural transformation in Montreal, funding artistic and educational initiatives that aim to make culture more accessible to all—especially children and families. It is part of a sustainable and inclusive vision of philanthropy, with notable contributions to the Orchestre Métropolitain and other cultural institutions.
At the end of the Your Gift Makes Waves summer campaign , which concluded with the magnificent concert at the foot of Mount Royal, Alex Ionescu made his first major donation to the OM, amounting to $300,000, multiplying the impact of major patrons and creating a real ripple effect. Recent donations from the OVI Fund include the one to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) to establish the Zhao Ionescu Chair, which will fund the position of Chief Curator of the MMFA in perpetuity, and the one to the Opéra de Montréal (OdM) to support its artistic mission for the next five seasons
