“If you’re passionate about something, you support it.”
- Millard Pryor

The name Pryor has long been associated with art and philanthropy in the Greater Hartford Community. A champion of the arts, Millard Pryor, an unassuming and self-made businessman became one of the most dynamic and influential philanthropists in the community. When he died unexpectedly in 2005, the result of complications from surgery, the community was stunned, and the gaping hole left in his family and the community he loved seemed impossible to fill. His wife, Claire, along with their daughters Esther and Liz, quickly assumed the mantle left by Millard and continued his legacy of philanthropy in the Hartford area and beyond. This Spring, at the HSO’s Gala on May 6, 2023, we will honor his memory and the legacy of philanthropy that has become synonymous with the family’s name.

Millard served as President of the Board of the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Connecticut Opera and at the time of his passing, he was Board President of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He served on the boards of countless organizations, including The Hartford Courant Foundation, Camp Courant, Connecticut Public Television, The Bushnell, Mount Sinai Hospital, the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, as well as the Amistad Foundation (now the Amistad Center for Arts and Culture), which he helped to found. He was also a longtime supporter and fan of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center.

Claire is an Emerita of both the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Hartford Symphony, an Advisor to the Boston Symphony, and continues to serve on the Amistad Center for Art and Culture board.

Millard and Claire’s daughter, Esther, serves on the board of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Stage, the Wadsworth Atheneum, is an Advisor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and a Regent of the University of Hartford just to name a few. Their daughter, Liz, lives on the north shore of Boston and has also served on several non-profit boards including the Tower School and the Essex County Community Foundation.

The entire Pryor family reflects years and generations of support for arts and culture, and at the HSO’s Bravo Gala on May 6, 2023, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra will pause to honor and acknowledge the Pryor legacy. We hope that their story will inspire countless others, and we invite you to join us in a long overdue acknowledgement and recognition of the family’s lasting
impact.