With a recently awarded $1 million gift, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School is well on its way to opening the Carter Center for Music Education in East Providence this fall.
The gift came from the late George M. Sage, Bonanza Bus founder, through his will. (READ MORE). It will be used to create Sage Hall, one of two major rehearsal halls being constructed in the 50,000-square-foot building – the former home of the Meeting Street School – which the Philharmonic purchased for $3 million in December 2006.
“A large portion of the building doesn’t have a roof,” said David Wax, executive director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. He added that to build the rehearsal halls, the roof must be raised to provide better acoustics.
Barbara Sage, George Sage’s wife, said she thinks her husband set aside the $1 million bequest for the organization because of his love for music.
“He always enjoyed that kind of music,” she said last week. “It’s just something he grew up with, and shared it with me.”
In addition to providing much-needed rehearsal space, Sage Hall will provide room for recitals with audience seating capacity of 100 to 150. The philharmonic’s music school currently has no space like it. Most of its music classes and recitals are split between multiple locations, such as Nathanael Greene Middle School in Providence.
Renovations for the new music school are being paid for through a $12 million capital campaign, of which $5 million will establish an endowment. Since the campaign was launched in March, the philharmonic has secured more than $6.5 million in pledges and cash donations.
The campaign was jump-started by a $2 million challenge grant from John and Letitia Carter’s Carter Family Charitable Trust, which stipulated that the nonprofit must raise matching funds by March 31.
“We have not received $2 million in cash,” Wax said. “But we’re close.”
When asked what will happen to the fundraising campaign when Wax leaves the organization sometime this month, Almon Hall, Philharmonic board president, said board members and staff will continue fundraising efforts during the search for a replacement for Wax.
Hall would not comment on why Wax’s contract was not renewed by the board. Wax has served as executive director of the organization for the past seven years. The announcement of his departure was made in November. (READ MORE)
For his part, Wax said, he is proud of what has been accomplished during his tenure. He is astounded by the size of the pledges the capital campaign has received since its launch.
During the last capital campaign the Philharmonic initiated 10 years ago, the highest individual contribution was $250,000, he said.
Wax attributes the increased giving to the greater visibility the organization has attained through the years. He said the merger of the symphonic orchestra and the music school in 2000 showed people the possibility of meeting a huge need in the community for music education.
He added: “The absence or diminishing of music in schools has given us a higher profile.”
Enrollment in the music school’s classes and ensembles was about 1,500 last year, down slightly from the 2006 total of 1,641, which Wax said might be a reflection of the school having to relocate the bulk of the classes from Nathan Bishop Middle School when it closed a year and a half ago. The music school employs about 70 educators, some of whom are performers from the Philharmonic.
“We are extremely grateful for the extraordinarily generous commitment of George and Barbara Sage toward our shared goals of expanding the artistic growth of the orchestra and building the future of music education in Rhode Island,” Hall said. •
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
