This is the story of Todd Yancey and husband David Denniston, two of the Music Academy's most ardent champions.

After decades of meaningful careers on both coasts (Todd as a physician and pharmaceutical executive whose work brought critical cancer therapies to millions of patients, David as a cosmetics and fragrance executive and later as a biotechnology entrepreneur) the couple put down roots in Santa Barbara in 2020. Their beautiful Riviera home reflects a deep love of the arts, filled with paintings and objects collected over nearly four decades together. They wasted no time getting involved. David suggested they join the Santa Barbara Newcomers Club, and Todd, characteristically, dove in headfirst, ultimately serving as president. The organization helped them build a wide circle of friendships and set the stage for what came next.

Music had always been part of their shared life. Todd remembers vividly watching Peter & the Wolf with his parents at Symphony Hall in Chicago as a child. Years later, as a young physician in New York, he began studying piano, first with a Juilliard-trained teacher whose flyer he spotted on a telephone pole in Manhattan, and later with Thomas Bagwell, a former Music Academy fellow whose stories first introduced him to the institution more than thirty years ago. For David, the musical journey has been one of discovery. A lifelong symphony and opera-goer, he found something new at the Academy: the intimacy of chamber music and the energy of young artists performing at close range. "You know the people on stage and in the audience," David reflects. "The enthusiasm of the students, it's palpable. It's just different."

That connection began with a single evening at Hahn Hall. At intermission, Kate Wynn Rogers, a longtime volunteer; former Board Member; and community leader, walked right up to the couple and introduced herself. She listened to their story, learned they were still commuting from San Francisco on weekends, and encouraged them to become compeers on the spot. The next day, she emailed with a match. Now in their fifth year as compeers, Todd and David have hosted fellows across voice, cello, violin, and piano, and many have become lasting friends.

The couple's philanthropic life runs deep and is deeply shared. In New York, Todd served for six years on the board of GMHC, one of the nation's leading HIV/AIDS service organizations, where the couple hosted musical salon evenings as intimate fundraisers with their circle of opera singer friends. Together, they provided the seed money and significantly support endowed the Women and Gender Studies program at the University of Virginia, born from an honest institutional reckoning with LGBTQ life on campus, which has since become one of the university's most highly subscribed departments. "Philanthropy is in our nature," says Todd. "We were blessed, and you get what you give. The right thing to do is to give back, to move things forward."

At the Music Academy, that spirit has translated into transformative engagement. Todd serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the Advancement and Campaign Committees. Both he and David are deeply invested in the Academy's next chapter: the Music Education Center at 901 State Street, a year-round, community-centered home for music that will allow the Music Academy to collaborate with local organizations and welcome new audiences well beyond the summer festival. For Todd, the vision is personal. "The idea of the Music Education Center as a fulcrum for the community is critical. It allows us to collaborate broadly and truly open our doors."

Todd and David have also become passionate ambassadors, drawing friends, neighbors, and fellow newcomers into the Academy's orbit. Many new compeers and supporters have joined through their encouragement. "We want others to have the joy that we have," Todd shares. "We know this is a place for that."

Five years in, Todd reflects: "There's not a single thing I've done at the Music Academy that hasn't been entirely pleasurable. I defy people to find a life experience where they can say that about five years."

For Todd and David, the Music Academy is not simply an institution to support. It is something they do together, enjoy together, and share generously with everyone around them. It is, as David puts it simply, "one of the things that unites us."