Donor Spotlight: Charles & Margaret Anderson
Posted on April 4, 2017
Both Charles and Margaret Anderson loved the arts, and having no children, left the bulk of their estate to create a charitable foundation from which this area will benefit for many, many years.
In 1994 the Community Foundation received the first gift establishing the Charles & Margaret Anderson Foundation Fund. This fund enhances the arts throughout the area by providing significant annual grants in support of the efforts of the Blue Water Arts Committee. It also provides dedicated annual grants to support the operations of the International Symphony Orchestra and Port Huron Musicale.
Charles had a beautiful bass-baritone voice. He was the bass in the paid quartet at the Congregational Church in downtown Detroit, where he also sang a solo every fourth Sunday. He was a well-known soloist in the Norwegian community, and sang the German lieder and other standards of the bass repertoire. He was a soloist for the “Messiah” several times.
Margaret started taking lessons on the piano at an early age. As a young woman she came to Detroit to earn a living giving private piano lessons, developing an excellent reputation in a short time. She became known as an outstanding accompanist for choirs and soloists, and coached many different vocal soloists as they prepared for concerts. She played in several piano, violin and cello trios, collecting a fine library of the standard repertoire. She was active in the Michigan Music Teachers Association, the Tuesday Musical in Detroit and the Port Huron Musicale.
Both Charles and Margaret enjoyed attending symphony and chamber music concerts. They always had tickets for the International Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera when it came to Detroit as well as the Michigan Opera Theater.
Charles was an engineer for Chrysler Corporation. After his retirement they winterized their cottage in Lakeport and moved away from Detroit. Several years later they bought a modest house in Port Huron. Margaret was active in the community through her involvement with the Port Huron Musicale, giving lessons and starting the Port Huron Piano Trio.
Since its creation, the fund has granted more than $1 million. View all grants.
