McGoldrick Match Campaign raises over $4M for DU Lamont School of Music

Michael McGoldrick, a longtime supporter of Lamont, enjoyed fishing in his free time.

Launched in the fall of 2022, the Michael McGoldrick Matching Gift Campaign concluded on March 1, raising $4 million to benefit the Lamont School of Music.

Nearly half of the gifts from this campaign were designated to support our students and their success through endowed scholarships, annual awards, and student prizes. Lamont gained these new scholarships:

• Paul Docktor and Michael McGoldrick Scholarship in Percussion
• James Gurtner Endowed Scholarship in Composition
• Richard and Anne Culver Endowed Scholarship for Jazz
• Zehtaban-Nouri Endowed Graduate Scholarship 

Other highlights of the successful campaign include:  

• Over $200,000 in the Student Travel Ensemble Fund which will enable outside performance and experiential learning opportunities.
• The Lamont Opera Fund raised over $350,000, a significant investment that will bolster our opera program for years to come.
• A general Lamont Society Fund of nearly $200,000 will support program priorities.
• Gifts to support specific musical areas will provide targeted and reliable funding to those areas for years to come.
• Gifts in Kind of donated instruments and equipment, valued at $100,000, will support various Lamont studios and provide students and faculty access to instruments and objects they wouldn’t otherwise have during their academic pursuits.
• The Keith Ward Visiting Artists Fund was endowed and will enable guest artists to share their talents and insights with our students and community.

“The Michael McGoldrick matching campaign will be a transformative moment in Lamont’s storied history,” said Keith Ward, Director of the Lamont School of Music. “It brought together a community of faculty, students, staff, parents, alumni, donors, and friends, and it expanded that community. I am deeply grateful for the remarkable generosity of participants in the campaign and for Michael’s singular philanthropic gift.”

“I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make the Michael McGoldrick matching fund challenge a great success,” said Phyllis Goodman, President of the Lamont Society Council. “You came together and through your generosity we will be able to better support our music students in immediate and tangible ways. The Lamont School of Music will feel the benefits of Michael’s gift for decades to come.”

“Lamont was honored to be part of this historic matching campaign and Michael McGoldrick’s legacy will provide enduring positive outcomes for our Lamont students and faculty," said Rhonda Gonzales, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. "I am extremely grateful to all those who contributed to the fundraising effort.”

Mr. McGoldrick worked at Janus Capital and enjoyed fishing in his free time. A longtime supporter of Lamont, he served as president of the Lamont Society Council. His bequest gift carries forward that legacy, engaging the Lamont community in transforming the future of music education at Lamont. When interviewed about why he gave to Lamont, Michael said, "When you visit the Lamont School of Music, you feel the enthusiasm of the students and their music reflects it. By supporting Lamont, you’re supporting a dynamic University in its growth phase, you’re encouraging the arts, and finally you’re supporting wonderful music for the greater Denver community.”

If you’d like to make a donation to the Lamont School of Music, please click here.