Making Beautiful Music Last Forever
Cathy Callaway Adams and her husband, Mark, are proud members of the Barbara D. Stewart Legacy Society, having included The Atlanta Opera in their estate plan.
Scientists and scholars have printed miles of research on the correlations between math and music—finding symmetry between simple equations and beautiful sounds, time signatures, beats per minute, and formulaic progressions. Data suggests students who study music outperform their peers in math, in addition to learning tremendous patience.
In the case of TAO board member Cathy Callaway Adams, training as a classical pianist plus a career in banking has equaled a lifetime of joy.
Originally from Lyons, Georgia, Cathy is well known in Atlanta as a remarkable leader and passionate advocate for arts and education. Cathy studied piano performance and business administration in her undergraduate work at Tift College. She went on to earn an MBA from Georgia State University and then established an extraordinary three-decade career with Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, where she recently retired as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer.
Alongside her full-time job focused on finance, Cathy has always made time to pursue her love of music and artistic expression through performing. Cathy is active as a collaborative pianist throughout the Atlanta region, accompanying singers, instrumentalists, choral groups, churches, and musical theatre. In addition to The Atlanta Opera, she serves on the boards of South Arts, Mercer University, and Atlanta Baroque Orchestra.
Cathy and her husband, Mark, are proud members of the Barbara D. Stewart Legacy Society, having included the Opera in their estate plan.
“Mark and I are grateful for estate planning structures that enable us to ‘show up’ for The Atlanta Opera, even after our physical selves become absent from our longtime seats in the audience.
“Establishing our legacy gift to TAO is one of the most joy-filled financial arrangements we have made, as our confidence in this TAO leadership team—for its artistic courage and innovation and its fiscal stewardship and discipline—has never been stronger. Our vision is that TAO will outlast Mark and me by generations and centuries, so we joyfully do our part to make it so.”
Planned giving can offer considerable tax savings while providing lasting income for The Atlanta Opera. Legacy contribution vehicles include bequests, trusts, life insurance, and retirement assets. We are grateful to receive support from our faithful legacy donors like Cathy and Mark Adams. To find out how to become a member of the Barbara D. Stewart Legacy Society, contact Jonathan Blalock at 336-512-6832 or jblalock@atlantaopera.org.
Information contained herein was accurate at the time of posting. The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. California residents: Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. Oklahoma residents: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota residents: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.