CLEVELAND — Shirley Morgenstern, the co-founder, president and CEO of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, has died. She was 79.

Morgenstern's husband, the Cleveland Pops conductor Carl Topilow, shared the news of her passing on social media Sunday evening.

"Shirley was strong, loyal, loving, caring, innovative, determined, and generous to a fault," Topilow wrote. "Against all odds, 1996 she founded the Cleveland Pops Orchestra with me at the helm. The orchestra enjoys a firm place in the rich musical environment of our city, and we are proud to continue her legacy."

Under Morgenstern's leadership as chief executive, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra has grown over nearly three decades as a premiere Northeast Ohio arts institution, with six subscription concerts a year at major venues like Sever

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