Donors Gather to Toast Inauguration of Weill Hall at Green Music Center

An ambitious program for the September 2012 grand opening of Weill Hall at the Green Music Center was announced on New Year’s Day, setting a “mission accomplished” date on the lengthy project. The involvement not only of the Santa Rosa Symphony, resident orchestra for the facility, but also the San Francisco Symphony and even Carnegie Hall were noted as potential partners in performances.

The formal announcements were made at a New Year’s Day Open House for major donors and supporters from the community. The event largely took place at Prelude, the Green's dining facility on site.

On hand were Sonoma State University President Ruben Armiñana, naming contributor Sanford “Sandy” Weill, and Donald and Maureen Green, whose initial dream to establish a choral recital hall on the university campus sparked the project almost 20 years ago.

“This is truly the moment for which we have all been waiting,” said Armiñana.  “We would not be here without the community of music lovers and philanthropists who have come together around our vision of a world class performing arts venue at a public university.” 

Topping the inaugural bill for the Saturday, September 29 concert in Weill Hall will be pianist Lang Lang. The Chinese-born pianist was a popular teen-age performer in his native China, and has since played recitals and concerts with major orchestras around the world.

Lang Lang’s headline appearance is hardly an accident. According to the New York Times, when Sandy Weill “wanted a sense of what the music hall being built at Sonoma State University would sound like, he asked a friend, the pianist Lang Lang, to stop by to play.” The impromptu recital led the Weills toward the project’s $130 million cost.

On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Santa Rosa Symphony will perform a matinee concert led by its music director, Bruno Ferrandis, featuring appearances by former music directors Corrick Brown and Jeffrey Kahane.

The Santa Rosa Symphony will take full advantage of the new location. They’ll present their classical music series in Weill Hall, inaugurate a new Family Concert Series, and host free concerts for youth and youth orchestras as part of the 2012-2013 Inaugural Season at the Green. 

The Green Music Center has been in development since the early 1990s, and parts of it have been operational since 2008; the opening of Weill Hall is a significant advance toward its completion.

City officials, planners and economists have repeatedly pointed to the Green Music Center as a in Rohnert Park. But its $130 million expense and Armiñana’s dogged support have earned the skepticism of some who compare its expense to the overall  

When fully completed sometime in 2013, the GMC will have three performance venues, one of which – Weill Hall, usually a 1,400 seat concert hall – can be transformed into an indoor/outdoor area with 4,400 capacity for special events.

The , a record $12 million gift, earned them naming rights for the hall. Their grant includes a $4 million 1-to-1 challenge grant designated toward completing the outdoor performance areas, the only major construction left on the project.

Mr. Weill, the former CEO of Citigroup, has been chairman of the board of trustees of Carnegie Hall, which may help explain the developing relationship between the New York icon of classical music and the new Green Music Center in Rohnert Park.

According to the Green Music Center’s press materials, the “future partnership opportunities” with Carnegie include music education programs, residencies with young musicians, and possible programming in Sonoma county music venues.

The San Francisco Symphony will bring Michael Tilson Thomas and guest conductors to lead performances at the Green Music Center, and Bruno Ferrandis will lead the Santa Rosa Symphony in performances during the inaugural 2012-13 season. Details of the season’s events will be announced March 5.

“The San Francisco Symphony looks forward to participating in the inaugural seasons of the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University,” said Brent Assink, Executive Director of the San Francisco Symphony.  “It is a beautiful venue and will, I believe, soon join the roster of America’s finest concert halls.  

“It will undoubtedly enrich the cultural life of the entire Bay Area.”