 In August 2011, OBF Executive Director John Evans announced that 35-year-old British conductor and keyboardist Matthew Halls, who has made significant conducting debuts with the Houston Symphony, Bach Collegium Stuttgart, Berlin Radio Symphony, and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, as well as founding and leading the pioneering Retrospect Ensemble, will assume artistic leadership of the University of Oregon event after the 2013 season.Phyllis and Andy Berwick donated $7.25 million to the festival in 2014, which is the largest gift in the group's history.Berwick Hall was christened as the first permanent home of the Festival in October 2017.