Carol Hogel

Dame Carol Colburn Grigor ( Colburn; formerly Hogel; born 1944 ) is an American and British philanthropist and former concert pianist resident in Ireland who has donated between $40 million and £100 million to the arts in Britain and Ireland.

Raised in Chicago, she was taught piano and recorder at school. She studied music at Indiana and Yale Universities. She played in chamber music concerts before marrying her first husband, Jens Hogel, whose work with the United Nations Development Fund took them both to Africa before they later settled in Scotland.

Richard Colburn was also a classical music enthusiast and amateur viola player. He was a director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the benefactor of the annual Colburn Celebrity Recitals, a co-founder of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and a generous backer of the Los Angeles Opera as well as other musical organizations in Los Angeles and worldwide. He founded the Colburn School of performing arts in Los Angeles.

The family trust donated to the arts and founded the Dunard Fund, which Colburn Grigor helps to run. The name Dunard derives from a house that she and her then husband owned in Aberfeldy, Scotland. She is also the president of Colburn foundation.

She has been a patron of the Edinburgh International Festival, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Opera and the National Galleries of Scotland. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra have also benefited from her support and she made major contributions to a range of other UK arts organisations. At one stage, she performed in Edinburgh as a touring concert pianist. She was honored by being appointed as honorary vice-president of the Edinburgh International Festival in 2013.

In 2019, she and her husband Murray Grigor moved their home from Scotland to Dublin, Ireland, due to changes in the UK tax laws.

Recognition and awards She was appointed an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her support for the arts. She was later elevated to honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She is a recipient of the Prince of Wales' medal for arts philanthropy and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

She was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2025.