Donation sounds sweet for OSU School of Music project
STILLWATER — Construction will begin soon on a new music building at Oklahoma State University, thanks to a lead gift from philanthropists Michael and Anne Greenwood, of Stillwater.
OSU officials announced the gift Sunday, but did not disclose the amount at the donors’ request.
The building — to be named the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music — will be connected to The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts currently under construction at University Avenue and Hester Street. Both are expected to open in fall 2019.
“I was so thrilled that the Greenwoods decided to get us started on this,” OSU President Burns Hargis said Monday.
Building the music building and the preforming arts center at the same time will save money, Hargis said. The new music school will cost about $28 million. The goal is raise more than half in donations, he said.
The lead gift is what makes any fundraising effort doable because it tells other donors the project is going to happen, Hargis said.
The Greenwoods have been huge OSU supporters, contributing to the marching band and the campus tennis center, among other things, he said.
Their new gift means the music department will be able to move out of the Seretean Center sometime next fall and free up more space for the theater department.
Hargis said he was surprised and impressed with the music program at OSU when he became president in 2008, “but our facilities had not kept up.” Students practice in hallways, he said.
The new building will house a variety of music laboratories, classrooms, rehearsal spaces and teaching studios equipped with the latest technology for high-level studio production. More than 2,100 students participate in music programs at OSU, including the OSU Marching Band, orchestra and various chorale groups.
“This will be a huge move forward,” Hargis said. “It’s really all about being competitive to draw faculty and students. We want to be competitive in all areas.”
Anne Greenwood said she and her husband love OSU and love music.
“We believe music enlightens and enriches the campus experience for all students at OSU. Great universities have wonderful music and performing arts programs, and Michael and I are pleased that this gift will allow OSU’s music educational programs to progress at a more rapid rate in the years to come and showcase the extraordinary talents of the students and faculty,” she said.
Howard Potter, head of the music department, said OSU is preparing to add degree programs in a variety of areas, including jazz performance. The new facilities will be a big boost to popular existing programs like music industry business, he said.
The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts will bring in world-class performers to entertain the public and mentor students, thanks to a programming endowment established by OSU alumni Ross and Billie McKnight, of Throckmorton, Texas.
The New York Philharmonic will open the $60 million performing arts center in October 2019 with performances and educational events for students and the community.