Where We Belong
Welcome to a once-in-a-generation opportunity: The Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts
$10 million
needed to reach a goal of $40M for Advancing the Arts in Infinite Horizon: The Campaign for Emma Willard School
When we see it, we know we’re home.
The façade of Alumnae Chapel raises our sights, lifts our spirits, reminds us where we belong. Its striking profile, bold carvings, and gracious setting at the heart of campus— these are etched in our memory, reminders of Emma’s history, community, and values.
Ignited by a lead gift of $30 million from Alice Dodge Wallace ’38, we’ve already begun planning for the construction of the Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts. Designs by the renowned firm of Ann Beha Architects call for a smart, historically sensitive renovation of the chapel’s interior, a new annex nestled into the landscape behind the chapel, and two stylish connectors that allow easy access to the chapel, the annex, and Snell-Dietel-Maguire.
To fulfill the promise of this astonishing facility, we need to raise $10 million. With your help, we’ll support faculty and students, develop and enhance programming, and create an uplifting space where the entire school community can gather, celebrate, and perform. Welcome to a new era in the life of the chapel—and in the creative life of the school.
A Gift for the Ages
Thanks to a visionary donor, Emma Willard will have a new home for creativity and
community
Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 was the daughter of educators. She displayed a lifelong devotion to education and teachers, providing for institutions that had touched her life and enriched the lives of others. Wallace served as a Trustee leader at Emma Willard from 1988 until her passing in 2020.
Wallace’s steadfast belief in the power of community and creativity led her to make the gift that launched the Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts
In many ways, our community is as strong as it has ever been. Yet the truth is that we have no space where the entire community can gather. And even as our arts programs continue to produce inspiring work, they operate under significant constraints. We have no practice space that can accommodate our full orchestra. Our studio theatre and Kiggins lack the space and the technology to support contemporary performances.
Wallace’s gift helps us address all those needs. She invested in a space that will energize artists and scholars alike, elevate the central role that the arts play in an Emma Willard School education, and serve as a home for celebrations, traditions, and rituals
“Emma Hart Willard founded this school to help students find their voice. The arts fulfill that mission every day.”
DR. DEBRA SPIRO-ALLEN ARTS DEPARTMENT CHAIR
that bring the community together. As the chapel is enhanced to meet these crucial needs, we’ll identify and rehabilitate a space dedicated to cultivating mindfulness, exploring spirituality, and enriching spiritual life.
Wallace valued the transformative power of girls’ education, enhanced by exposure and experiences in the arts. Her intention was to inspire others to join her in support of her school.
Says Head of School Jenny Rao: “Alice Dodge Wallace’s love of the arts calls us to build a space that will nurture our most creative and innovative thinking.”
The Shape of Things to Come
A tour of the Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts
The annex will keep a low profile, nestled into the landscape, with a green rooftop.
We’ll maintain the striking façade of Alumnae Chapel.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ANNEX: Two wood-lined dance studios with sprung maple flooring; a studio theatre with flexible seating and state-of-the-art lighting and projection systems; faculty offices; set and costume shops; and a spacious music rehearsal room featuring instrument storage and acoustically treated oak walls.
A new glass-walled connector leads from the chapel to Snell-Dietel-Maguire. An underground connector leads from the chapel to the annex. Turn the page to see what will be inside!
The new concert hall will maintain the characteristic wood trusses that support the vaulted ceiling and harken back to the building’s history.
During construction, the baroque Noack pipe organ will be removed for safekeeping and reinstalled in place, exactly as it was when first added in 1970.
Additional balconies on the side and rear will offer unobstructed views of the stage and help increase the available seating without adding to the building’s overall footprint.
THE MAIN EVENT:
A 450-seat concert hall for performances and community gatherings.
Flexible main floor seating can adapt to different performance settings.
A new stage—including a motorized extension!—will accommodate full choral and orchestral groups.
Great care will be taken to preserve the leaded glass of the original windows.
THE RESULT: An integrated, innovative, sustainable center for the arts—and a welcoming gathering space for the entire Emma Willard community.
Join This Defining Moment
Your support will uplift the arts and bring our community together in new ways
Thanks to Alice Dodge Wallace, we’ve raised $30 million of our $40 million goal for Advancing the Arts, one of six priorities in Infinite Horizon: The Campaign for Emma Willard School. To raise the remaining $10 million, we turn to you.
The Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Center for the Performing Arts allows us to build on our strengths. Wallace’s lead gift gives us the resources to begin work on this magnificent project. But we need your help to bring it fully to life—to complete the construction, support our arts faculty, and enhance our programming in the arts.
Emma Willard has always prized creative exploration and artistic expression. And we have always understood the power of community. The singing at Eventide, the dancing
at Spring Showcase, the campuswide magic of Revels—in these moments and so many others, the performing arts are the heart of the Emma experience. At a defining moment for the arts at Emma—for the community of Emma—we urge you to join us.
“This project engages all my passions— my commitment to
education, to young women, to new ways of interpreting historic structures, and to pairing legacy with contemporary design.
Emma Willard sees the arts as common ground, welcoming all to explore and grow.”
ANN
M. BEHA, FAIA RAIC SENIOR COLLABORATING ARCHITECT
students engage in arts programming every year
30+ courses in the arts offered every year
15+ musical, dance, and theatrical student ensembles
