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above: Santa Rosa Symphony Conductor Bruno Ferrandis, clarinetist Roy Zajak, violinist Kathy Marshall and cellist Laura McLellan perform in the Green Music Center. Video courtesy of The Press Democrat. Produced by Kent Porter.
Exciting News!
William Rawn & Associates has been named top architect in the country by Architect Magazine (see links to story below). William Rawn is Executive Architect for the Donald & Maureen Green Music Center and has been intimately and personally involved with the Green Music Center well before a shovel hit the dirt. His inspiring design and attention to detail has made the project what it is today—a world-class musical facility on its way to completion. He and his firm also served as architect to Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, the Music Center at Strathmore College, Williams College Center for Theatre and Dance, the Lincoln Center Plaza Theatre, and many other stunning projects.
Below are links to the May 2009 cover of Architect Magazine, featuring William Rawn Associates, as well as the story within the magazine (click on bottom left or right to turn pages).
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On-Going progress
The Concert Hall is nearing completion. Several musicians—some from the Santa Rosa Symphony and some from the San Francisco Symphony—have had an opportunity to play on the stage and have found the experience to be excellent. Bruno Ferrandis (above, right), Conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony said in a recent Press Democrat article, "You see the sound with a magnifier,” Ferrandis said.
“I have been roaming all over the hall, and you get the same good sound. The attacks are phenomenal.”
Work remains on the lobby which, once complete, have limestone floors, a grand staircase, elevator, and a beautiful large art piece, and stunning views into the 100 foot square courtyard which can be used as a reception area. A donor wall will offer appreciation to donors of $5,000 or more. To date, more than 1,500 individuals who have played a part in the vision of the Green Music Center.
Cedar and stone work highlight the exterior of the west and south sides of the concert hall. An outdoor balcony on the south end (above the paneled-wall that opens) is complete and will offer visitors a spectacular view before and after performances.
The University continues its fundraising campaign for chairs, theatrical lighting, a sound and audio/visual system, and completion of the lobby. Additional fundraising for other components in the Green Music Center is also underway.
Music Education Hall
Music Education Hall has been open and functioning for a full semester. Entering the hall, the ear will key into music emanating from the one or more of the seven practice rooms; it might be piano, saxophone, vocals or violins but whatever the instrument, the building resonates with music. In the always bustling lounge on the second floor of the building, students can be found studying, writing music, in deep academic discussion with their classmates or just spending a few minutes visiting with friends or faculty.
SCHROEDER'S RECITAL HALL
Once complete, Schroeder's will be very much like a European cathedral, with a high ceiling and slightly-curved walls. It was conceived and designed for choral music with a variable acoustic system, but can also accommodate regular university classes. Once complete the Brombaugh Tracker Organ—a rare and important find for Schroeder's—will grace the wall in a balcony built just for it at the stage end of the hall. Currently being used (in a church) by the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, it will be disassembled, shipped and reassembled when the time is just right. The rooms connecting Schroeder’s with Music Education Hall are in the process of completion and include ensemble and practice rooms.
HOSPITALITY CENTER
Finishing work continues on the Hospitality Center and Executive Conference Center, designed to be a contemporary and elegant space for dining and special events. They are expected to open in late summer or early fall. There is no plan to open the GMC as a restaurant at this time. The Hospitality Center and Executive Conference Center will serve as a special event and meeting facility for campus and non-campus groups. The dining room will also serve as food, beverage and club facility when performances are being held on the GMC lawn or quadrangle. The exterior patio features a water feature, fire pits, an arbor overhead that incorporates heaters for those cool evenings, trees and landscaping.
A Founders' Room in the Hospitality Center will be used for entertaining by the Santa Rosa Symphony when it is performing and by the University at other time. Its double walls help keep the room quiet. A large ensemble room can be used as a musician's lounge, a break-out room for meetings, or a rehearsal room for students. The room has sound absorbent walls with 400-500 sheets of drywall. A retail space where Green Music Center and other items will be sold is planned.
Take a tour of the green music center
Have you toured lately? Come join us and bring a friend! Ask questions and learn about what will take place once the Center opens completely. Tours last 40 minutes and RSVPs are needed; contact Bonnie Cormier at bonnie.cormier@sonoma.edu or 707 664-2158.
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