Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) secured $225,000 towards the construction of the Green Music Center on the campus of Sonoma State University in legislation passed today in Congress.
The money was part of the FY04 Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD) Appropriations bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
"A world-class music center for Sonoma County is long overdue and will assist the economic development of the community," said Woolsey. "I am proud to help Sonoma State University and the Santa Rosa Symphony create a venue to celebrate the performing arts and to develop the talent of the next generation of musical artists in the North Bay."
"Thanks to Rep. Woolsey for showing strong support for the project and the community," said Donald Green, benefactor of the proposed world-class music center. "The timing couldn't have been better as charitable giving activities are at a low. This is a morale booster that will help us get reinvigorated to raise the final amount of money."
The Donald and Maureen Green Music Center will become the permanent home of the Santa Rosa Symphony and will expand the performing arts programs of Sonoma State University as well as the Northbay region. The Green Music Center will be modeled after the Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Massachusetts.
"This is great news," said Dr. Ruben Arminana, president of Sonoma State University. "This will be a wonderful investment by the federal government in the arts, education and economic development for the University and the North Bay."
This $225,000 for the Donald and Maureen Green Music Center is in addition to the $200,000 that Rep. Woolsey secured to protect Tomales Bay in the House VA-HUD Appropriations bill. After the Senate version of the VA-HUD Appropriations bill is passed, the two bills will be reconciled in conference committee before a final version is approved.
For information on the legislation, contact Rep. Woolsey's press secretary, Susannah Cernojevich, (202) 225-5187.
Information on the Green Music Center can be found at www.greenmusiccenter.com.
Due to the runaway sell-out of last year's performances, Green Music Festival's artistic director Jeffrey Kahane has invited twice the number of musical friends to join him on stage for this summer's Chamber Music Series at Sonoma State University.
This year, Kahane's musical colleagues will offer four spectacular programs on July 13, 17, 19, and 20. Kahane has invited back the world-renowned Borromeo String Quartet, the fast-rising young cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and the San Francisco Symphony's principal violist Geraldine Walther.
Also included this year are international solo violinist Chee-Yun, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Eric Wyrick, San Francisco Symphony cellist Peter Wyrick, clarinetist Todd Palmer and internationally acclaimed concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker.
The four chamber music concerts, called "Jeffrey Kahane and Friends I, II, III and IV," will be held in the Evert B. Person Theatre at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 13 and Sunday, July 20 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 17 and Saturday, July 19. Works by Debussy, Golijov, Franck, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Haydn, Dohn'nyi, and Brahms will be featured.
On Sunday, July 13, Jeffrey Kahane and Eric Wyrick will launch the program with Claude Debussy's exquisite Violin Sonata. Next, Todd Palmer joins the Borromeo String Quartet in Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov's rousingly energetic Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Kahane and the Borromeo String Quartet will end the afternoon with C'sar Franck's powerful Piano Quintet.
On Thursday, July 17, Chee-Yun, Peter Wyrick and Kahane begin the program with Mendelssohn's D minor Trio. Palmer and both the Wyricks will join Kahane in Oliver Messiaen's chamber masterwork, Quartet for the End of Time.
On Saturday, July 19, Jon Kimura Parker and Kahane will display their shared keyboard prowess with Schubert's Fantasy for Piano Four Hands. Weilerstein will join Kahane in Sergei Rachmaninoff's Sonata for Cello and Piano followed by the composer's virtuosic Symphonic Dances for Two Pianos.
On Sunday, July 20, Kahane, Chee-Yun, and Peter Wyrick will perform Haydn's G minor "Gypsy" Trio. Walther will join Eric and Peter Wyrick on stage for Erno Dohn'nyi's Serenade for String Trio. Chee-Yun, Walther, Weilerstein and Kahane conclude the four-day series with Brahms' enduring Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor. Tickets to the chamber concerts are available at (707) 546-8742 or visit the web site at www.greenmusicfestival.org. For groups of ten or more, call (415) 346-7805.
The campus is located at 1801 E. Cotati Ave. in Rohnert Park, Calif., which is 40 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Festival will move to its permanent home, the Donald and Maureen Green Music Center at SSU, when it opens in a few years.
On the heels of last year's stirring celebration of Cuban jazz and salsa, the Green Music Festival will team up with the Santa Rosa Symphony to provide a fantastico Salsa concert and dance party on Sunday, August 3 on the Sonoma State University lawn.
Leading this year's spicy event, called "Salsa Vivaldi!," is the scintillating trombonist Jimmy Bosch and the young, nationally acclaimed violinist Leila Josefowicz.
Josefowicz will direct a soaring interpretation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by the Santa Rosa Symphony. In response, Bosch and his band will perform his version of the Baroque masterpiece with the explosive sound and sensual rhythm of Puerto Rican salsa.
Besides the Vivaldi, Bosch, and his band will also perform an extensive set of "Salsa Dura" (hard salsa) during the Salsa dance party in the second half of the program. Free dance lessons will help Festival goers get ready to tango, mambo, rumba, and cha-cha. Gates will open at 2 p.m. for picnicking. The concert and free salsa dance lessons are from 4-8 p.m.
Bosch is one of New York's most sought-after trombonists. He has reinvigorated the Latin music scene by projecting his essence through his emphatic solos and rhythmic melodies. The Los Angeles Times has called him "one of the most devastating forces in Latin music today." Bosch's prolific career and extensive discography span two decades. He has collaborated with stellar figures such as Cachao, Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barreto, and Marc Anthony.
Leila Josefowicz, at the age of 23, has won the hearts of audiences around the world with her honest, fresh approach to the repertoire and her dynamic virtuosity. She came to national attention in 1994 when she made her Carnegie Hall debut performing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with Sir Neville Mariner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Since that time, she has appeared with many of the world's most prestigious orchestras.
Ticket prices range from $10-$30 for lawn seating and $45-$340 for reserved table seating and are available at (707) 546-8742. For groups of ten or more, call (415) 346-7805. For further information, visit the web site at www.greenmusicfestival.org.
The campus is located at 1801 E. Cotati Ave. in Rohnert Park, Calif., which is 40 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Festival will move to its permanent home, the Donald and Maureen Green Music Center at SSU, when it opens in a few years.
