When Lau and Bea Christensen joined fellow donors on stage to celebrate the opening of the Hamel Music Center in the fall of 2019, he gave a toast and she followed with an a cappella performance of “Feeling Good.”

It was a fitting moment for the couple, who are not only generous philanthropists in Madison but also longtime musicians. Their most recent gift to the College of Letters & Science continues their passion for giving by providing exciting new opportunities for deserving students to pursue their futures in music.

Finding Their Rhythm

Growing up in Green Bay, Lau heard a lot about UW–Madison because both of his parents and three older siblings were Badgers. Lau eventually followed their path to campus — not as a student, but as a professor in the Department of Economics — after earning an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Lau served on the UW–Madison economics faculty for 20 years, from 1967 to 1987. Toward the end of his tenure, he co-founded the economics and engineering consulting firm Christensen Associates, where he continues to serve on the board of directors.

We met through music, and music has been a big part of our life together.

Bea, widely known as “Bea from Cherokee,” wrote and recorded radio commercials in the Madison area for many years. Bea and Lau met in the Madison New Horizons Band, in which they still perform, Bea as bass clarinetist and vocalist, Lau as trombonist. They married in 2009, and today their blended family boasts eight children, 20 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

For years, Lau had been involved in local philanthropy, including within the economics department, where he established the Christensen Award to encourage collaboration between graduate students and faculty, endowed a named chair, and has served on the board of advisors since its inception.

Since becoming a couple, Bea and Lau have supported numerous organizations and causes making a difference, including the Mead Witter School of Music’s board of advisors.

“We met through music, and music has been a big part of our life together,” says Bea.

“One of the earliest things we did was make a gift to the Hamel Music Center,” Lau adds. “It was a pleasure to see that develop.”

A Harmonious Pairing

The Christensens have also supported a variety of scholarships within the Mead Witter School of Music over the years, but they still wanted to do more to help. With guidance from the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, they recently created the Music Education and Center for Academic Excellence Partnership gift.

This new partnership between the Mead Witter School of Music and the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) — a nearly-60-year-old program that provides community and academic support to a select group of incoming L&S students each fall — increases access to music education for undergraduate students with a particular focus on those who are first in their family to attend college or who come from low-income or rural backgrounds.

“There are so many young people with talent who want to pursue their education,” says Bea. “But many are not able to use that talent due to financial situations.”

Philanthropy continues to be a very important and satisfying part of our lives.

The Christensens’ gift will support four cohorts of three to five students from freshman year through graduation over a total period of seven years. This summer, the program welcomed its first three students: flutist Autumn Heffernan and trumpeters William Johnson and John Roche.

While CAE has partnered with departments from STEM fields in the past, this collaboration with the Mead Witter School of Music is the first of its kind. The partnership is already catching the attention of music educators from peer institutions, and the Christensens hope it will inspire other donors to support such innovative and impactful projects.

For now, though, they’re eager to see where their support takes the first cohort of musicians and are proud to continue giving in all the ways they can.

“Philanthropy continues to be a very important and satisfying part of our lives,” Lau says.

“We share a lot of what we have with those in need, which makes us feel very good,” adds Bea.