Zankel Music Center moves toward completion

President Philip A. Glotzbach, Martin Zankel, Board Chair Suzanne Thomas, and New York State Senator Joseph Bruno were the first to sign the beam that will be used in the new Zankel Music Center.

A $4 million economic development grant from New York State and an additional $4.5 million gift from the estate of the late financier and philanthropist Arthur Zankel have brought Skidmore?s $200 million Creative Thought, Bold Promise campaign to $161 million and completed the funding for construction of the new Arthur Zankel Music Center.

The news was celebrated today (May 16) at a ?steel-raising? ceremony at which New York State Senator Joseph Bruno, a 1952 Skidmore alumnus, and Martin Zankel, brother of Arthur, spoke movingly about their support of Skidmore and their anticipation of the impact that the 54,000-square-foot facility will have on the College and on the region when it opens in late 2009.

?This gift is the culmination of my brother's intense commitment to sharing his good fortune with those who are not so fortunate and to promoting education as the tool for progress, a proposition in which he deeply believed,? said Martin Zankel. ?He practiced philanthropy as an integral part of his life for almost 40 years and was determined that his resources would have an impact on the life of his community.?

This latest contribution comes on top of the $42 million bequest from Arthur Zankel that the College received in 2007.

Bruno called Skidmore ?one of the pillars of the Saratoga community, recognized as one of the
leading liberal arts higher education institutions in the nation and host to numerous cultural and arts events every year.?

Added Bruno, ?With the addition of the new Zankel Music Center, visitors will be able to experience and enjoy a broad range of arts and events while providing a positive economic impact to the local economy.?

The facility will include a state-of-the-art, acoustically tuned 600- seat concert hall as well as practice rooms, offices, and other instructional facilities. It will also support a wide range of activities open to the general public and will serve as the primary venue for the Skidmore Jazz Institute; the New York State Summer Writers Institute; and the College?s new collaboration with Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School, Carnegie Hall Premieres.

?Skidmore is proud to collaborate in this remarkable public-private partnership that will enable us to complete the construction phase of the Arthur Zankel Music Center,? said President Philip A. Glotzbach in his welcoming remarks.

To open the ceremony, Professor Gordon Thompson led a percussion salute, played on a steel beam to be incorporated into the new building. After delivering their remarks, the speakers signed the beam and invited all in attendance to do so as well.

Student and faculty musicians performed a program of classical and contemporary selections, including ?The Zankel Blues,? performed by a jazz combo made up of Nathaniel Osborn ?08, Michael Parker ?10, and Michael Kaplan ?09.