A Legacy of Music, Place, and Community

The Herter Society Legacy Program honors those who are making a lasting commitment to the future of Garth Newel Music Center through planned giving. The program reflects the vision of Christine Herter Kendall, whose 1981 founding bequest of her beloved Garth Newel estate and the initiation of the Garth Newel Endowment has shaped this center for music, education, and community since the very start.

The Origins of Garth Newel

A native of New York City who settled in Bath County with her husband William Sargent Kendall in 1922, Christine Herter Kendall came from a long tradition of support for the arts. They built the Garth Newel “New Home” Estate in 1923-24, entertaining a steady stream of visiting musicians, artists, and other friends. After her husband’s death in 1938, Christine remained in Bath County and became a leader in the local community’s burgeoning arts scene.

Toward the end of her life, she dreamed of transforming her beloved Garth Newel into a place dedicated to the study and performance of chamber music. In 1969, she recruited Arlene and Luca DiCecco, musicians of Duke University’s well-known Rowe String Quartet, to bring that vision to life.

The DiCeccos soon began a summer chamber music study program on the property. They soon abandoned their well-established quartet career and moved into Garth Newel’s Manor House to pursue this vision on full-time basis. The Garth Newel Music Center was formally established as a non-profit corporation in 1973. As Garth Newel’s audience outgrew the Manor House, the former indoor riding arena — once used to train Arabian horses — was transformed into a concert hall.

In 1981, Christine passed away, bequeathing the property and a modest endowment to enable the DiCeccos to continue.

For more than 25 years, Luca and Arlene DiCecco devoted themselves to developing Garth Newel into a nationally respected center for chamber music. Around the shared experience of extraordinary music-making, framed by Luca’s engaging musical commentaries and Arlene’s spectacular cooking, the DiCecco’s attracted and built an uncommonly devoted and generous family of support.

Now, after more than 50 years since the magic of this extraordinary story began, the Garth Newel Music Center continues to be shaped by Christine’s visionary gift; Arlene and Luca’s boundless devotion; and the passionate support of a devoted musical family.

Why Legacy Giving Matters

Today, the contributions of Garth Newel’s devoted musical family provide well over half of the resources needed to make the Music Center a programmatic and operational success each year. Like Christine Herter Kendal’s founding gift to establish Garth Newel’s endowment her gift of the Garth Newel Estate itslef, Legacy gifts are foundational steps in securing the Garth Newel Music Center’s future.

Legacy Giving ensures that…

• Chamber music continues to be performed and shared in an intimate, inspiring setting

• Educational programs reach future generations of musicians and listeners

• Historic buildings and grounds are preserved with care

• Garth Newel remains a living cultural space for years to come

Every legacy gift - large or small - plays a meaningful role in sustaining this work.

Ways to Create Your Legacy

A planned gift allows you to support Garth Newel in a way that aligns with your personal, financial, and philanthropic goals. Options may include:

• A bequest through your will or estate plan

• Naming Garth Newel as a beneficiary of a 401(k), IRA, or life insurance policy

• Gifts of cash, stock, or real estate

• A residual or percentage bequest

With thoughtful planning, a legacy gift may offer benefits such as:

• Income for life

• Reduction or avoidance of capital gains tax

• Current tax advantages

• Potential estate tax savings

You retain full control of your assets during your lifetime, and your plans may be modified if circumstances change.

A Lasting Gift

By including Garth Newel Music Center in your estate plans, you help protect both the music and the place itself - ensuring that future generations can experience the same sense of beauty, connection, and inspiration that has defined Garth Newel since its founding.