San Francisco Conservatory of Music Announces $1-Million Pelosi Secured Federal Funds for Furnishings & Equipment in New Civic Center Home
SAN FRANCISCO, December 12, 2005:
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music today announced House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi secured $1-million to help pay for furnishings and equipment in its new Civic Center home, opening next September. Leader Pelosi secured the funds as part of the $115 million for San Francisco projects in the fiscal year 2006 Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriation Act.
“The San Francisco Conservatory of Music is an essential part of our civic life,” said Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. “The arts are the heart of this country and the Conservatory educates our best and brightest musicians, and makes music accessible to all San Franciscans. At this tremendously exciting time in its history, as the Conservatory prepares for its new home, I am proud to have worked in Congress to secure this federal commitment,” she said.
“These funds are an outstanding investment in the musical future of our City and our nation,” noted Colin Murdoch, president. “We’re thrilled to be one of the cultural institutions to receive supportive funds for our new Conservatory home in the Civic Center and easily reached via public transportation. We know how competitive access is for these scarce federal dollars, and look forward to putting the funds to work on behalf of music that enriches and enhances everyone’s quality of life.
“We’re especially grateful to House Democratic Leader Pelosi, Senator Feinstein and Mayor Newsom for their invaluable efforts on our behalf,” Murdoch added.
The Conservatory’s allocation is part of a total of more than $115 million passed by the House and Senate in late November, and signed into law by the President. The funds will help complete the Conservatory’s $80 million new building and programs’ project, which has been under way for the past three years to construct and open its dramatically larger, more publicly accessible new location at 50 Oak Street—near the heart of the City’s Performing Arts Center. More than $54 million out of its $65-million fundraising goal has already been raised through private and foundation donations to the capital campaign.
About the Conservatory
The San Francisco Conservatory is one of the leading music schools in the world. Each year, the Conservatory serves more than 1,300 students through its Collegiate, Preparatory, and Adult Extension Divisions and its summer programs. Its students and faculty also present more than 1,500 public performances—most of them free—to more than 100,000 Bay Area residents and visitors annually.
The new $80 million teaching, performance, rehearsal and practice facility in San Francisco's Civic Center will nearly double the Conservatory's size from its current 37,000-square-foot facility in the Sunset District—where it has operated for the past 50 years. Opening in September 2006, the new San Francisco Conservatory of Music at Civic Center will provide dramatic improvements in classroom, studio and rehearsal spaces, as well as create new high quality public performance venues—including a 450-seat state-of-the-art Concert Hall.
For more information, or to arrange a tour of the new Conservatory of Music, please call 415.759.3465 or visit
www.sfcm.edu.
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Press Contact:
William Strawn/Kathryn Pellegrini
MacKenzie Communications, Inc.
415.403.0800
wstrawn@mackenziesf.com
Lisa Petrie
Senior Manager, Communications
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
415.759.3465
lep@sfcm.edu
