Spivey Hall Announces Creation of Drs. Bryan and Norma Edwards Chamber Music Endowment

Former Athens Residents Establish Perpetual Fund to Ensure the Continued Vitality of Chamber Music Programs

Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall,  the Southeast’s premier recital hall renowned internationally for its superior acoustics and the excellence of its classical, jazz and world music artists, announced in April the establishment of The Drs. Bryan and Norma Edwards Spivey Hall Chamber Music Endowment, a perpetual fund created to ensure that chamber music of the highest quality, performed by outstanding international ensembles, continues to hold a permanent and prominent place in Spivey Hall’s programming. The endowment has been created by Friends of Spivey Hall Charter Members (and former Athens residents) Drs. Bryan and Norma Edwards with a major gift to the Clayton State University Foundation. The Endowment will support fees to chamber music ensembles, which may include chamber ensembles in residence, for public performances and master classes at Spivey Hall.

“Only with the support of individual donors like Bryan and Norma Edwards can Spivey Hall bring the highest level of classical artists to its patrons,” said Sam Dixon, executive and artistic director, Spivey Hall. “In creating this endowment, Bryan and Norma demonstrate their leadership and generosity as Friends, as well as an extraordinary commitment to the future of chamber music at Spivey Hall, for which we all may be lastingly grateful.”

Chamber music – notably string quartets and piano trios from the time of Joseph Haydn, to works by composers of the current day – is at the very heart of the Western music tradition. Encompassing works written for ensembles of various types and sizes, chamber music includes many of classical music’s most inspired compositions that are of enduring value to musicians and audiences alike. Spivey Hall’s intimate size and superb acoustics offer an ideal environment for the performance and appreciation of chamber music, and have contributed to Spivey Hall’s reputation as Atlanta’s premier chamber music venue.

“Clayton State University and Spivey Hall offer deep and heartfelt thanks to Bryan and Norma for the thoughtfulness, generosity and leadership they have demonstrated in creating their Spivey Hall Chamber Music Endowment,” stated Dixon. ”This legacy will ensure that great chamber music continues to thrive at Clayton State University, by preserving, cultivating, and extending a central tradition of classical music for audiences of all ages, and for generations to come.”

Dr. Bryan Edwards joined Clayton State in 1982 as dean and executive director of continuing education and community outreach, and in April 2001 was named the University’s vice president for external relations.  At his retirement in January 2005, his many notable achievements at Clayton State included the development of award-winning continuing education programs, unprecedented levels of success in major-gift fundraising, and securing 100% participation in the University’s annual Faculty/Staff Fund Drive. Following a distinguished career in mental health services, Norma Edwards earned her Ed.D. from the University of Georgia, a degree also conferred on her husband Bryan in the same 1978 commencement ceremony.  The Edwardses have two adult children, and divide their time between Atlanta and Asheville, North Carolina.