Leaving a Musical Legacy – the Mary Janet King Memorial Fund
The Mary Janet King Memorial Fund supports community groups working with young people to take up musical instruments.
All of us at Foundation Scotland were deeply saddened by the passing of one of our longest serving fundholders, Miss Mary Janet King.
Mary King was introduced to us in 2006 by her professional adviser at Newton Investment Management. Mary didn’t see herself as a ‘philanthropist’, she simply wanted to make other people happy. Mary knew she was luckier than most. She was financially self-sufficient, having received an inheritance from a distant relative, and therefore she wanted to use this to help people who were less fortunate than she was.
Foundation Scotland worked with Mary to draw up a list of good causes that would receive an annual donation. We also used Mary’s passions for music and art as the focus for her giving. Mary was an accomplished pianist and achieved Grade 8. She particularly loved Debussy, Schumann, Chopin and Beethoven and very much enjoyed attending piano concerts at the Royal Conservatoire (known then as the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) while living in Glasgow. Mary knew the passion and commitment it took to play piano at such a high level.
In addition to her love for music, Mary loved the arts and her father was a talented painter. His watercolours were proudly displayed in her home. And so, in the early days of the fund, awards were made to the Royal Conservatoire and Glasgow School of Art, by way of scholarships.
It was the piano scholarships at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland that gave Mary the greatest satisfaction and these will continue as part of her legacy.
Over the years Mary became increasingly aware of the challenges regarding music tuition in schools and asked Foundation Scotland to source grants for projects which would help young people to take up music.
In the 18 years since the Mary Janet King Fund was established, Foundation Scotland has made 350 grants on Mary’s behalf.
Mary sadly died on 5th February 2025, just before her 93rd birthday. The Fund will now be known as the Mary Janet King Memorial Fund. Having a legacy in place was a comfort to Mary in her later years, as she knew that her family’s money would be used to benefit others.
Mary always enjoyed receiving the grant recommendations from Foundation Scotland. Her Fund Adviser Annabel Bath recalls:
Mary was a delightful client. She especially liked hearing updates from me about how the projects had gone and how the participants had benefited.
Many have benefitted from Mary's philanthropic giving over the years. Here are just some of the things that they had to say:
This scholarship has very simply been the cause of all of my achievements and successes thus far, as without it I would physically not be able to remain at RCS and pursue this career. I am very grateful for it and will continue to work as hard as I can.
Dida Condria, BMus Piano Performance, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
We are incredibly grateful to Mrs King, who, through her charitable fund, helped talented music students from all backgrounds pursue their dreams. It's clear that she had a passion for the performing arts and her long-standing support of young artists will have an impact long into the future.
Julie Reynolds, Head of Fundraising and Alumni Relations, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
I wouldn’t be where I am without Big Noise. It has supported me for the last 11 years of my life, every step of the way [...] Before Big Noise I didn’t have many aspirations, like going to university, but now I have the motivation to be the best and do the best I can in life.
Big Noise Raploch Graduate, Sistema Scotland
In 18 years of grantmaking, the fund has provided broad ranging support including the following:
- 350 grants made in total
- 34 scholarship students supported (30 at Royal Scottish Conservatoire and 4 at Glasgow School of Art)
- 140 grants made helping young people to take up music
- £360,000 awarded to date