Music Academy of the West Concludes
Recital Hall Renovation Campaign
$500,000 gifts cap an extraordinary fundraising effort
For Immediate Release August 20, 2008
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – The Music Academy of the West concluded its recital hall renovation fundraising campaign in dramatic fashion on August 16, announcing just prior to its season-ending community concert at The Granada that a pair of donors had pledged $500,000 apiece. With the donations, the Music Academy successfully fulfilled the conditions of a $1 million challenge grant announced just nine days earlier, thus meeting its campaign fundraising goal of $15 million.
"I can't think of a better way to bring this outstanding fundraising effort to a close and to mark the end of another exceptional summer season," said Music Academy Board Chairman James E. Davidson. Mr. Davidson announced the latest gifts onstage just before the Academy Festival Orchestra, under conductor Peter Oundjian and in collaboration with the women of the Santa Barbara Choral Society and the Santa Barbara's Children's Chorus, performed Mahler's epic Symphony No. 3 in D minor to close out the Academy's 2008 Summer School and Festival.
The Music Academy's recital hall renovation fundraising campaign officially commenced in 2001, when benefactors Stephen and Carla Hahn contributed a total of $6.1 million toward the renovation and maintenance of the Academy's primary recital facility, then known as Abravanel Hall. The building has since been named Hahn Hall in their honor. The campaign gained critical momentum on August 7, when Santa Barbara philanthropists Shirley and Seymour Lehrer announced plans to donate $3 million to the Music Academy, including a $1 million challenge grant earmarked for the recital hall renovation fundraising effort. To receive the latter gift the Music Academy was required to raise an additional $1 million by year's end.
Montecito philanthropist Leni Fe Bland was among the donors whose gifts were announced August 16. Well known for her civic leadership and generous support of local nonprofit organizations, Ms. Fe Bland has received numerous honors over the years, including a lifetime achievement award in 1998 from the Santa Barbara News-Press, and a woman of the year award in 2005 from the Santa Barbara Foundation and KEYT. The other $500,000 gift is from an anonymous donor who contacted the Academy on the morning of August 16. A total of 116 donors have contributed to the Academy's recital hall renovation fundraising campaign.
Hahn Hall was completed just prior to the start of the Music Academy's 2008 Summer School and Festival on June 23. Featuring vastly improved acoustics and numerous other enhancements, the building and associated site work were completed in 10 months at a total project cost of $15 million. Phillips Metsch Sweeney Moore Architects oversaw the project in collaboration with the renowned acoustics consulting firm McKay Conant Hoover. Frank Schipper Construction Co. served as the lead contractor.
According to campus officials, the project was completed on time and on budget, and the associated recital hall renovation fundraising campaign was fulfilled ahead of schedule.
"We are exceedingly pleased to have met our campaign goal early. We now look forward to focusing our fundraising efforts on our full-scholarship program and future facility upgrades to further enhance the Academy's instructional program," said Scott Reed, vice president for Institutional Advancement at the Music Academy. "Although our primary campaign needs have been fulfilled, we encourage community members to be part of this historic time at the Academy by sponsoring a seat in Hahn Hall or adding their names to the impressive Donor Fountain that will be constructed in a nearby courtyard early next year."
In addition to the $1 million matching grant toward the recital hall renovation fundraising campaign, the Lehrers made an unrestricted gift of $1 million, and donated another $1 million to fund future facility renovations at the Music Academy. Mr. and Mrs. Lehrer previously donated $1 million to fund the creation of Lehrer Studios at the Academy, a practice facility completed in 2006. In recognition for the Lehrers' latest gift, the Music Academy will name Hahn Hall's elegant entrance area Lehrer Lobby, and dedicate the 2009 Summer School and Festival to the couple.
One day after the Lehrers' gift was made public, the Music Academy announced that soprano Irene Cummings, an alumna ('51) whose lengthy career included regular appearances on Tennessee Ernie Ford's primetime variety program The Ford Show in the late 1950s through 1961, had bequeathed her 16-acre Santa Paula avocado ranch to the Music Academy. Currently valued at almost $3 million, the property will be used to endow future Academy opera productions upon Ms. Cummings' passing.
"We've enjoyed a remarkable run of good fortune, and are boundlessly appreciative for the generosity of our many donors," said Music Academy President NancyBell Coe.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, as well as guest conductors and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy will broadcast live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall beginning in October. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
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