Leave a Bequest

Your legacy lives on.

By leaving a gift in your Will to Melbourne Recital Centre, you are supporting the Centre’s future provision across all impact areas – music programming diversity, artistic development, and learning and access programs.

Every gift is appreciated enormously and benefits the entire community.

We encourage you to let us know if you are leaving a gift to Melbourne Recital Centre in your Will so that we can thank you in person, share more detail about how your gift will be used, and invite you to join the Encore Bequest Circle. You will have the opportunity to have your name listed on our programs, and be invited to participate in special gatherings, concerts, behind-the-scenes tours and other exclusive events.

Below are some suggested wordings for various options for including a gift in your Will to Melbourne Recital Centre. All offer the advantage of maintaining the power of your gift to sustain the Centre for generations to come.

Residuary Will Bequest – after looking after your family and friends and any debts, you may choose to leave what remains of your estate to a charitable organisation like Melbourne Recital Centre. A percentage residuary Will bequest is an alternative to give whatever percentage of the residue of your estate you wish to either one or more chartable beneficiaries.

Specific Will Bequest – you may like to nominate a dollar amount, expressed either as a nominal amount or a percentage of your estate, up to 100%. For example, members of our Encore Bequest Circle are leaving cash, property, shares and other assets to the Centre as part of their estate planning.

Donor Directed Bequest – you may wish to direct your gift towards a specific program or purpose that aligns with Melbourne Recital Centre’s impact areas. Please ensure that your Will provides a provision for Melbourne Recital Centre to redirect your gift to the closest alternative purpose or program if it becomes impossible or impracticable to apply it to the prescribed purpose.

At the bottom of this page, you can download our suggested wording template to help you add one of these bequests to your will.

This information is of a general nature and we recommend you consult with your solicitor who is best placed to provide advice suitable to your situation and ensure your Will is valid and that your wishes are expressed correctly.

Encore Bequest Circle

Help the Centre flourish now and into the future with a gift in your Will.

When you leave a gift in your Will, you guarantee the Centre’s future provision over its five impact areas encompassing programming diversity, access to music for all, a platform for the very best music, nurturing artists and enabling innovative forms of outreach that share our music far beyond the walls of the Centre.

Please consider including Melbourne Recital Centre in your Will or testamentary plans.

‘I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without music. When I look back on all the wonderful music I’ve been privileged to hear at Melbourne Recital Centre, I realise how important it is for these concerts to continue for the pleasure and enrichment of future audiences. By leaving a bequest, I am very happy to play a small part in making this possible.’ Mary Vallentine AO, Encore Bequest Circle member and Melbourne Recital Centre CEO from 2010-2016

‘It is so important to invest in the future of Melbourne Recital Centre, to ensure its programs are vibrant for generations to come.’ Jim Cousins AO & Libby Cousins, Encore Bequest Circle Inaugural Patrons

Honouring the Encore Bequest Circle commitment

In 2021, the Centre will be bringing together the visionary Encore Bequest Circle patrons for an event series that journeys through the diversity of music and programs on offer here for local artists and the community.

To learn more about making a bequest, contact:

Alistaire Bowler
Head of Development
(03) 9207 2653
Alistaire.Bowler@melbournerecital.com.au