San Francisco Conservatory Receives $46 Million Gift

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music recently received a $46.4 million gift from the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, one of the largest ever donations to an American music school. According to the NY Times, “The gift will help fund construction of a $185 million, 12-story building on a site just south of San Francisco City Hall. Designed by Mark Cavagnero Associates and scheduled to open in 2020, it will include two concert halls, rehearsal spaces, high-tech studios and classrooms, and will provide housing for the student body.”

“It will shape the future of the conservatory, in one of the most exciting pieces of real estate in the world,” said David H. Stull, the school’s president.

The oldest independent music school on the West Coast, SFCM has broadened its curriculum and explore new avenues for music education. In particular, it’s program in Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) has brought new cohorts into the world of composition.

“Our students learn how to write classical music and real-world production skills at the same time,” MaryCalre Brzytwa, director of the TAC program, said. “Stylistically, they come from many perspectives — jazz, classical or electronic music — and there is a lot of leeway to plan a path of their own. But all of them seem to want rigor.”

Read the full article here.

Published: April 29, 2018