Jacques and Barbara Schlumberger of Michel-Schlumberger Benchland Wine Estate in Healdsburg possess a generous nature, and the means to accomplish great things. To that end, they have just gifted the Santa Rosa Symphony $1 million toward the Center for the Musical Arts to be built on the Sonoma State University campus.
"We believe in sharing what we have with others," says Barbara. "We see it as our role in this world and it gives us great pleasure to make this gift knowing it will enhance many lives."
The Schlumbergers are both graduates of Sonoma State University: Jacques a 1982 graduate of the physics department and Barbara a 1991 psychology graduate.
Barbara Schlumberger is a licensed marriage and family counselor. The Schlumbergers both have been very involved in the arts for much of their lives; Barbara comes from a family of musicians. Jacques is currently a member of the Santa Rosa Symphonyís Board of Directors.
The Schlumbergers join Don Green, also a co-chair for the fund raising effort for the Center for the Musical Arts. Green owns Advanced Fibre Communications in Petaluma. He and his wife Maureen have already committed their support of the Center for Musical Arts and its mission.
"The thought that a first-rate concert hall is within reach is something few communities across this country could ever imagine, let alone actualize. This is a turning point in the history of the arts in Sonoma County," says Corrick Brown, co-chair of the center's fund raising committee and conductor-emeritus of the Santa Rosa Symphony.
The Center for the Musical Arts will be a 1,400 seat concert hall with first-rate acoustics. The building will open at one end to provide additional lawn seating for 3,000 people with an excellent view of the stage and the Sonoma hills. For larger performances, additional lawn space will accommodate audiences of 10,000. The center is fashioned after Tanglewood in western Massachusetts which combines first class music within a beautiful rural setting.
This past fall, the university teamed up with the Santa Rosa Symphony in a partnership that will launch the $23 million campaign. Once completed, the Center for the Musical Arts will serve as the new home for the Santa Rosa Symphony. Construction begins as soon as the necessary gifts are committed.
The center will offer year-round performing arts events, including music, and dance as well as lectures and conferences. A guest artist series will attract acclaimed talent from around the world. And the Santa Rosa Symphony will present a full schedule of performances from orchestral works and recitals to chamber music and its celebrated summer "Pops" concert.
For more information, call Jim Meyer, SSU's vice president for development, at 707 664-2284 or visit the Web site at http://www.sonoma.edu/UAffairs/Construction/MusicCenter.html.
