Jami Beck was a champion of the Black Hills Symphony. A talented musician, Jami came to our organization wanting to contribute in any way she could. She played viola in the orchestra for several seasons, more recently performing on clarinet and even saxophone, depending on what was needed.
Jami served on the BHSO Board of Directors and created a unique and highly-successful series of fundraisers, linking the Symphony and community members. Black Hills Symphony Orchestra “Chamber Music Parties” were salon-style concerts held in private homes. Over the years, many Rapid Citians opened their lovely homes to BHSO small chamber ensembles, in the process raising thousands of dollars for the BHSO. The “Chamber Music Parties” were known for evenings of great food, music, and conversation.
Jami shared her enduring energy, enthusiasm, talent and commitment with the Black Hills Symphony and the greater Rapid City community. Outside her work as a speech therapist and her BHSO commitments, she found time to perform in many pit orchestras for the Black Hills Community Theatre, teach ice skating, and horseback riding. She was an excellent horsewoman.
When she passed away suddenly in early 2023, she left a gaping hole in many of our lives. To honor her memory and to celebrate the community she found within the Black Hills Symphony, her family created the Jami Beck Memorial Fund. The Jami Beck Memorial Fund will support the activities of the Black Hills Symphony. Each year the Fund will support:
1. Purchase of music for the “Jami Beck Memorial Music Library”
2. Busing for the Symphony Safari Concert for 4th Grade Students
3. One Concert in the BH Symphony Season that Jami would have loved.