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Center for Music and Art Capital Campaign
Wenatchee Valley College has an extraordinary, one-time opportunity to upgrade its educational facility while reclaiming its
position as a community leader in music and the visual arts. Serendipitously, this opportunity also provides the Wenatchee
School District with a facility for WestSide High School.
The state has set aside $2 million for a $6.6 million Center for Music and Art at WVC which must be spent for that specific
purpose by June 2011, or the money will be lost. A well-identified Center for Music and Art, with a recital hall built specifically
for music, was identified as the school's top priority in 2006, and after detailed review, the state agreed to add the project
to its pot of matching monies for 2011.
The college is presently using the former Eagles Lodge building on Ninth Street for music education and art classes, but the
facility is ill-suited for a quality music and art center, with a noisy HVAC system, inadquate lighting and sound-trapping
acoustics.
Instead, the Wenatchee School District proposes to purchase and remodel the Eagles Lodge for a new WestSide High School.
In exchange, Wenatchee Valley College would receive $1.5 million and the adjoining property at the west edge of the college,
where WestSide is currently housed.
This moment--and $5.8 million in funding--will not come again.
All that's needed to create a state-of-the-art educational Center for Music and Art at WVC is less than $800,000 from the
community -- a community which has long supported ambitious K-12 programs in music and art, along with locally produced musicals,
choral events, bands, orchestras, art galleries and exhibits.
Benefits to Students and the Community
- A new Center for Music and Art will enable more students to become engaged with the arts
- Improved rehearsal facilities benefit student ensembles as well as community groups who use our space, such as the Wenatchee
Valley Symphony, Columbia Chorale and Wenatchee Big Band
- Future vision for the Center for Music and Art includes concert performances with local groups, music competitions, art and
music summer camps, and visual art gatherings of professionals
WVC receives generous contribution to Music and Arts Center Campaign
A $100,000 contribution from the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center to the Wenatchee Valley College Music and Arts Center fund-raising
campaign—the second-largest gift to the campaign--was announced this week. Campaign chair Dan Jackson made the announcement
to the WVC Foundation Campaign Steering Committee after receiving the information from WVC President Jim Richardson.
The commitment, to be paid over five years, will be matched by the WVC Foundation with funds from the Morris Trust. In recognition,
the student art gallery will be named in honor of the medical center.
The cooperative nature of the property exchange between the Wenatchee School District and Wenatchee Valley College to make
this happen was a deciding point in the decision, according to Dr. David Weber, chief executive officer of WVMC. “Not only
will the college music and art students have a facility that better fits their needs and is connected to the rest of the campus,
the school district will have a building it can use for its West Side High School.
“It’s a rare opportunity when so much can be achieved through one project.”
Richardson said he was delighted to hear from Dr. Weber about the commitment from the medical center. “This generous gift
will benefit students in the Wenatchee valley for years to come,” he said. “We appreciate the long partnership and support
the medical center has shown over the years for students in our allied health and other programs. How fortunate we are to
have the medical center in our community.”
The largest single gift to the campaign is a commitment of the Icicle Fund of Leavenworth for $1 million.
The campaign steering committee is planning a number of
music and arts events to support the campaign and raise awareness of the long-awaited, new 29,000-square-foot facility that plans call for occupancy
in the fall or winter of 2012-13. The first event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30, at the existing MAC facility on the
college campus. Jazz vocalist Suzanne MacPherson will present an evening concert that will be open to the public at $35 per
person.
Additional information is available at the college foundation by calling 682-6410.
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Growing Our College
a WVC Center for Music & Art DVD
FAQs about the location
Architect's Renderings
Wenatchee World
Articles
Soon a place for music and art
, March 13, 2010
Foundation strikes up music center campaign
, June 9, 2010
Lets seize this opportunity
, June 12, 2010
A lot of students were coming out of high school from great programs in art and music; and, for their futures, we need to
return the college to its rightful place as the regional center for music and art.
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Jim Richardson,
WVC President
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