JAZZ CHATS WITH COOL CATS
A Conversation with Ann Arbor Jazz Hero Don Chisholm
Thursday, April 29th @ 5:30 PM EDT
Drummer and host, Pete Siers, talks with Ann Arbor “Jazz Hero,” Don Chisholm, who made his living as a real estate developer, but whose passion for jazz music led him to become a founder of the Southeastern Michigan Jazz Association, to fund scholarships for jazz and musical theater students, and whose example inspired the formation of the Don Chisholm Friends of Jazz at Kerrytown Concert House.
Tune in to hear Pete interview Don about his many years of passion, service and philanthropy for jazz and the players who serve the art form.
Don Chisholm was born in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1934. He attended The University of Michigan and received his BA in 1955 followed by his MBA in 1956. A stint in the Army followed graduation from UM along with marriage. Don Chisholm and his bride, Betts relocated to Toledo, Ohio where Don was a successful corporate market analyst often consulting in New York City. Yet, he missed Ann Arbor’s intellectual and artistic community – and its easy access to first rate golf courses. He and Betts returned to the city of his Alma Mater where he joined the Hobbs-Schmidt Real Estate firm. Two years later he formed Ann Arbor Associates, a firm that developed attractive and practical buildings for Ann Arbor’s booming business and residential needs.
Over the years he has served on The Ann Arbor Hospice Board, U-M Music School Advisory Board, The Michigan Theatre and The Summer Festival Advisory Board. His philanthropy extends to all of these organizations, but his main focus of charitable giving has been the U-M School of Music and The Kerrytown Concert House. Since 1987, Don has supported jazz and musical theatre students with partial tuition awards through The Chisholm Jazz Scholarship and The Chisholm Musical Theater Scholarship. Don was one of the original board members of the Southeastern Michigan Jazz Association, providing assistance with artistic expenses including hospitality when Ron Brooks, owner of the Bird of Paradise Jazz Club, founded the association 1987. For his music philanthropy and his generous heart, Don Chisholm received a 2015 Jazz Journalist’s Association “Jazz Hero” Award.
