Bethany Receives Award from Richmond Symphony Orchestra

Bethany Theological Seminary and President Jeff Carter have received the David Rodgers Friend of the RSO Award in recognition of their service and generosity to the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.

Established in 2025, the David Rodgers Friend of the RSO Award is named after the organization’s long-term board member and benefactor who died in May 2025. Rodgers led the RSO through its greatest period of financial strain, assisting the board in setting financial policies and protecting the endowment. His legacy gift, established in 2022, doubled the RSO’s annual endowment distribution. In honor of that gift, the RSO prioritized a 20 percent raise to the musicians and the board remains committed to annual increases that are competitive with fellow orchestras. 

The award is a giclee of a painting that hangs in Civic Hall, where the symphony performs. (A giclee is a collector-quality print, created using museum-quality pigments, paper, and printing technology.) The painting reproduced for the award was created by noted Indiana artist C.W. Mundy in 2006. It was purchased and donated to the RSO in 2009 by Scott and Christopher Mosey to honor their parents, Chuck and Maxine Mosey, who were passionate supporters of the RSO.

Bethany Seminary and President Carter have a long association with the RSO, rooted in their shared commitment to excellence. Carter is a member of the symphony board and served as president of that group from 2021-24. He provided leadership as the symphony welcomed musicians and audience members back into the Civic Hall for the first concerts following the Covid pandemic. 

Carter was also instrumental in the recruitment and onboarding of Music Director and Conductor Andres Lopera. Bethany has hosted several recitals by RSO musicians in Nicarry Chapel. The Seminary has been a sponsor of RSO concerts for the past several years. Bethany recently made a commitment to sponsor guest soloists for RSO concerts over the next five years.

This year, that soloist is Matthew Vaughn, co-principal trombone of the Philadelphia Symphony. Vaughn is a graduate of Richmond High School and the 1987 winner of the RSO’s Young Artist Competition. For his return to Richmond, he will perform Ferdinand David’s Concertino for Trombone and Orchestra in E-flat Major — the same piece he performed when he won the Young Artist Competition in 1987.

“The RSO Board and staff extend their heartfelt thanks to Bethany Theological Seminary and Jeff Carter for their continued sponsorship, partnership, and investment in the orchestra’s future,” says Marty Van Der Burgt, current president of the RSO board. “This commitment not only celebrates the excellence of the RSO today but also helps ensure that excellence continues to grow for generations to come.”

Bethany Seminary is well known in the Wayne County community for its generosity and commitment to service. The Seminary sponsored 23 charity events in the Wayne County community during the 2025-26 academic year, hosted several free public events, and provided significant financial support to several local non-profit organizations, schools, and teachers.

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