Originally from Alabama, Don moved to Atlanta after college to work for accounting firm PriceWaterhouse, now known as PwC, and he eventually launched his own accounting and consulting firm. 

When the time came for Don to retire, he vowed to give back to his community. Music has been Don’s lifelong passion. He is an avid French horn player, a proud member of the Alpharetta City Band, and a member of the Roswell New Horizons Band.

Don enjoys opera’s unique confluence of dramatic theatricality, thrilling vocal performances, and beautiful orchestrations. For two decades, Holland has supported The Atlanta Opera with generous annual contributions, and he recently named The Atlanta Opera as a beneficiary of his Charitable Remainder Trust. 

The funds from Don’s planned gift will support The L. Donald Holland Atlanta Opera Orchestra Horn Section Endowment Fund, thus ensuring that his love for opera and the French horn will endure for generations.

Planned giving offers considerable tax savings while providing lasting income for The Atlanta Opera. Legacy contribution vehicles such as bequests, trusts, life insurance, and retirement assets allow the Opera perpetually to enrich lives through the power of our
art form. 

Tommy’s beloved mother, Betty, was a soprano with a beautiful voice. Both she and her husband were instrumental in helping to continue professional opera performances in Atlanta after Metropolitan Opera tours ceased in 1986. 

Although Tommy was an accomplished operatic tenor in his own right, he dedicated his full-time career to helping other singers as an otolaryngology specialist. Visitors to his office were often impressed by his “wall of fame” with headshots from dozens of famous singers who sought out Tommy’s treatment. 

Through the decades, he jumped into many roles at the Opera, including administrative assistance, as well as singing as a soloist and chorister. If a star at The Atlanta Opera was ill, Tommy was always willing to help, sometimes even slipping backstage mid-performance to assist an ailing artist. 

His story at The Atlanta Opera continues, as he faithfully donates funds and attends performances. As a member of the Opera’s Advisory Council, Tommy also offers advice and support for the company’s leadership. All of us in The Atlanta Opera family salute Tommy and thank him for his continued commitment!

(pictured with Jamie Barton and Barbara Zellner)

In 1910, a group of committed citizens took it upon themselves to solidify the stability and vitality of the Metropolitan Opera’s stop in Atlanta and established the Atlanta Music Festival Association (AMFA.) The group’s mission was to provide the structure, leadership, and financial support to ensure that the tour would continue.

Mr. Robert Edge was elected president of AMFA in 1972, and he has led the organization with a passion for the art form and a thoughtful approach to the business.

“Thanks to the strong leadership of AMFA President Alfred Kennedy Sr., who preceded me as President, and the successful years that followed, we were able to develop a reserve fund of about $1.8 million by the time the Met quit touring. Most of that fund has been dedicated to The Atlanta Opera for the last 35 years, and those of us associated with the AMFA have taken great pleasure in providing this support,” said Bog Edge.

Thanks to effective stewardship of its funds, the AMFA has faithfully supported The Atlanta Opera with an annual contribution of $70,000 or more for decades. The AMFA’s cumulative contributions to the Opera exceed $2.6 million.