Grand Opening of the Performing Arts Center & Learning Commons
Saturday, September 24, 2022
A Message from President Tuajuanda C. Jordan
The September 2019 dedication of the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium was a point of tremendous pride for the National Public Honors College. It marked the first outcome of our successful $2.5 million campaign that helped secure $75 million from the state of Maryland. Today we celebrate the completion of the Performing Arts Center and Learning Commons, a $66 million stunning dual outcome of that same generous support from the state and the College community.
We celebrate an auditorium within the Performing Arts Center that our students, faculty, and staff will share with the greater community. The inaugural performance in the
auditorium of Carmina Burana this afternoon and the evening’s concert with Average White Band are just the beginning. Join us on October 7 for a national panel discussion about inalienable rights followed by a host of events to come.
Our new Learning Commons facility provides much-needed space for classrooms and study groups. A café and outdoor plaza create a welcoming gathering place for all.
We did it. Six years and three facilities: a new sports complex, a new performing arts center, a new learning commons. Thank you, one and all, for your outpouring of support and for believing in St. Mary’s College.
PROJECT HISTORY
Design of the Performing Arts Center and Learning Commons facilities began in the winter of 2017 and concluded in fall 2019. Construction started in winter 2020 and continued through the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2022, the Learning Commons opened in time for the new cohort in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. The Performing Arts Center opened in September 2022.
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN: the GUND Partnership of Cambridge, Massachusetts, led by David Zenk and Rena Yang. GUND Partnership brings 50 years’ experience in design of educational facilities that are sustainable and highly adaptable.
ARCHITECT OF RECORD: GWWO of Baltimore, Maryland, with team members Mark Lapointe, Chris Elcock, Lauren Park, Samir Taylor, Matt Ames, and Nia Young. GWWO is nationally recognized for the design of educational and cultural spaces.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN: Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, Alexandria, Virginia. An awardwinning landscape architect with a national reputation, Michael Vergason has been a key inspiration for over 30 years behind St. Mary’s College campus development as a primary member of the College’s master planning team. MVLA’s Ana Quintana and Matt Sickle served as project managers for this project.
CONSTRUCTION: Holder
Construction Company, Herndon, Virginia. Holder’s construction management portfolio includes the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Bowie State University and the Katzen Center at American University. The firm’s team included Todd Fehd (project executive), Nick Schmidt (superintendent), Sean Keens (asst. superintendent), Michelle Austin (project manager), Michael Bell and Landry Guyton (project engineers) and Denise McNeil (accountant).
ACOUSTICS AND AUDIO/VISUAL TECHNOLOGY: Jaffe Holden, Norwalk, Connecticut. Jaffe Holden provided acoustic design for Lincoln Center’s Juilliard School, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center. Steven Schlaseman (project manager) and AV designer Ben Bausher (audio/visual designer) were crucial to the acoustics and technology for the Performing Arts Center and the Learning Commons.
The PERFORMING ARTS CENTER creates additional space for all of the fine arts programs. The 50,233 gross-square-foot building features:
• A 700-seat auditorium, designed with concerthall quality acoustics as well as the flexibility to accommodate lectures, multimedia presentations and performances
• A 125-seat recital hall with telescopic tiered seating
• Sound-insulated rehearsal studios and specialized studios for percussion, piano and electronic music
• Classroom and office space for the Department of Music
The Performing Arts Center building is designed to meet LEED Silver certification standards. It includes solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.
The landscaping features multiple rain gardens, a new Crescent Green lawn, a pine grove and a new academic courtyard with a bubbling fountain – these all serve together to create a new gathering space for students on the southeast side of campus.
The NEW MAJOR IN PERFORMING ARTS , with its three concentration areas of music, theater/dance/performance studies, and integrated performing arts, is intentional in its learning outcomes to prepare future performers with the professional skills they need to create in the post-pandemic, technology- and social media-driven marketplace. Faculty in music and theater collaborated on the integrated curriculum, combining the best features of existing programs in music and theater with courses in dance, sound and light design, stagecraft, scriptwriting, musical composition and arts administration to connect creative expression with professional skills needed to make a career in the performing arts.
The LEARNING COMMONS is the new home of the Department of Educational Studies, relieving
space constraints in their former home with the science programs and clearing the way for new STEM laboratory space there. The 16,291 gross-square-foot building features:
• Office and classroom space for educational studies and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs
• 24-hour Study Commons for student use
• Brew’d Awakening Café serving coffee, beverages and light snacks
Integrated technology in the Learning Commons classrooms scores high with the educational studies faculty, from dual displays in classrooms to integrated class capture. Moveable furniture makes it simple to change room layouts to support different learning groups and needs. Students enjoy the 24-hour study spaces and the convenient location of the café.
MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE PERFORMING ARTS
Etch your name or the name of a loved one into St. Mary’s College of Maryland history by inscribing a plaque on a seat in our new Performing Arts Center. These make wonderful gifts, honoring someone with a lasting tribute in our 700-seat auditorium.
Contact Miranda Pontarelli, annual giving officer, at mjpontarelli@ smcm.edu or 240-895-2122 if you would like three or more plaques. Your $300 tax-deductible gift supports the Performing Arts Fund.
The Presidential Lecture Series presents
Inalienable Rights in the 21st Century
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 | 7:00 P.M.
ST. MARY'S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AUDITORIUM
FREE public event (tickets required)
RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET: WWW.SMCM.EDU/IR22
INSCRIBE A SEAT TODAY! SMCM.EDU/GIVING/
AUDITORIUM-SEATS/
JESSICA YELLIN JELANI COBB BILL KRISTOL MARA LIASSON
Grand Opening Weekend SCHEDULE
OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, SEPT. 23
11:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
Performing Arts Center Auditorium
PAUL REED SMITH is a guitar maker, musician, founder, and managing general partner of Paul Reed Smith Guitars and has held that position for over 35 years. PRS Guitars is the third largest U.S. manufacturer of electric guitars. Paul made his first playable guitar for extra credit at St. Mary's College. For decades, Paul has built instruments for internationally famous musicians including Carlos Santana and John Mayer, utilizing his fundamental grasp of how to incorporate physics, woodworking, practical engineering, graphic mathematics and art into world-renowned products. Paul has instruments on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Additionally, Paul is a founder and manager of a new start-up, Digital Harmonic. The fundamental technology of Digital Harmonic was developed by Paul and his father, Jack W. Smith, who was
an applied mathematician. What started as an experiment for measuring waveforms from a guitar string to create a new guitar synthesizer ended up producing a technology that could truly revolutionize the practice of signal and imaging processing. Both companies combined hold over 100 registered trademarks and nearly three dozen patents.
“MAKING YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE”: AN INTERACTIVE TALK WITH PAUL REED SMITH
FRIDAY, SEPT. 23
7:00 – 9:30 P.M.
Outside the Performing Arts Center and Learning Commons
FOOD TRUCKS, LIVE MUSIC AND FUN!
MUSIC CLUB PERFORMERS: Zack Glime, Jack Uhl, Chris
Rand-Crawford, Zayon Morgan
ZERO DEGREES PERFORMERS: Melinda Huynh, GraceAnne
Nelson, Abigail Hardy, Mordecai Leavitt, Marian Marteja
ICARUS ACCOUNT: Florida-based twin brothers Ty and Trey Turner
Account
Icarus
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24
10:30 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.
VIP Reception
Performing Arts Center Lobby
11:45 A.M. – 12:45 P.M.
Grand Opening Ceremony and Ribbon Cutting
Performing Arts Center Lobby Lawn
1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Performance of “Carmina Burana”
Performing Arts Center Auditorium
7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Average White Band Concert
Performing Arts Center Auditorium
GRAND OPENING OF THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER & RIBBON CUTTING
Welcome
Susan Dyer, chair of the Board of Trustees
Significance of Event
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, president of St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Greetings
Speaker of the House of Delegates Adrienne A. Jones
Senator Jack Bailey (District 29)
Delegate Brian Crosby (District 29B)
Special Announcement
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, president
*Official ribbon cutting and photos will follow on the designated area near the Performing Arts Center.
A special thank you to our students playing here today:
STRING TRIO
William Capon '23 (oboe)
Sentiah Cole '24 (cello)
Pierre Petitjean '25 (violin)
CELLO ENSEMBLE
Sentiah Cole '24
Ariel LaBorie '25
Alara Sipahi '24
...and to Jeffrey Silberschlag, professor of music and international conductor and trumpet soloist, for providing trumpet fanfare: "Presto" by Mel Broiles.
Inaugural Performance IN
THE AUDITORIUM
FRIDAY, SEPT. 24
1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Performing Arts Center Auditorium
Carmina Burana is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Known for its dramatic and folk like melodies, Carmina Burana is one of the most performed cantatas of all time.
Directed by Larry Vote, professor of music
Performed by the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Chamber Singers
FEATURED SOLOISTS:
Gustavo Ahualli, baritone
Diane Atherton, soprano
Larry Vote is professor of music and an accomplished vocal soloist and conductor. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe, including at Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Gustavo Ahualli is well known for his dramatic portrayals in leading roles in both the standard operatic repertoire as well as new works by contemporary composers. He is a voice faculty for the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America and Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C.
Diane Atherton has performed in operatic soprano roles throughout Europe and the United States. She is well known for her interpretation of Mozart roles and for performing 31 concerts in a month as guest soprano in the J Strauss Gala, opening in London’s Royal Festival Hall. Atherton has sung in a performance of Carmina Burana at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Her voice can be heard on soundtracks for film series such as “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings.”
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24 7:30 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Performing Arts Center Auditorium
Multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated R&B/soul superstars Average White Band formed in Scotland. Inspired by American jazz artists such as “Cannonball” Adderley and Herbie Hancock with the soulful influence of Marvin Gaye and Al Green, the band has evolved into an eclectic mix of original members with new American bandmates. These 70’s chart-toppers are still going strong today, with new releases complementing their classic smash hits like “Pick Up the Pieces,” “Schoolboy Crush,” and “Cut the Cake.”
TO THOSE WHO MADE THE FACILITIES POSSIBLE, Thank you!
Over 2,900 donors contributed to the successful $2.5 Million Capital Campaign Challenge, which helped secure $75 million from the state of Maryland for the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium that opened in 2019 and for the Performing Arts Center and Learning Commons that we celebrate today. Those who gave at leadership levels are recognized here.
$100,000
Cindy Broyles ’79
Arthur & Hilda Landers Charitable Trust
Family of Jamie L. Roberts
Marguerite Pelissier & William E. Seale
$25,000 - $99,999
Sandra Duff ’85 & Willem D. Cassard ’83
Dallas Plugge Dean ’60
Kathleen B. & Joseph E. Garner ’74
Gail M. & John W. Harmon
Ann McDaniel
Jean Bickmeyer ’83 & Donald Patrick McDougall ’83
John M. Staples & Raymond Scott Raspa ’86
Jeanne Brady ’88 & John C. Saum ’89
Anonymous
$10,000 - $24,999
Patricia L. Konecke & Ralph J. Curry
Helen G. & G. Thomas Daugherty ’65
Judith Dunn Fisher ’65
Lois Romano & Sven Erik Holmes
Emily B. & Charles C. Jackson
Tuajuanda C. Jordan
Lorraine Bauman ’74 & Craig R. Lawler ’74
Debra A. Neubert & Lawrence Eric Leak ’76
Cathy & Brian Anthony Porto ’92
Allan D. Wagaman ’06
Gaynelle Gray & James A. Wood ’61
Martha Myers Yeager ’41
Anonymous
Renee Chodur Agnew ’74
Christina L. & Frank R. Allen
Julia R. & Robin R. Bates
Jason Spicer & John Joseph Bell ’95
Debra G. ’89 & Daniel S. Branigan
Elizabeth A. & Jeffrey J. Byrd
Lisa B. Carey ’05 & Michael F. Carver ’05
The Class of 2016
Patricia Ann & Hal Edwin Cole
Carolyn S. Curry
Kristin W. & Krishna S. Dighe
Nancy Ruyle Dodge
Bonnie Marie Green ’74 & William Wardwell Edgerton
Molly Mahoney Matthews & Lewis Hamilton Ferguson
Ilene Joy Frank ’96
Kathryn E. & Carl T. Franzen
Marvin C. Franzen
Carol G. Galloway ’57
Laraine M. & William B. Glidden
Peter Green
Melanie Collier ’88 & Christopher Grim ’89
Cherie L. & Timothy Louis Heely
Teresa Borgerding ’83 & Christopher D. Holt ’86
Karen E. & Craig Wesley Irwin ’92
Barbara Arlene & Glen Richard Ives
Suzanne Lussier-Jones ’58 & Ronald F. Jones
Elizabeth C. & Jonathan D. Lowenthal
Allison Dobyns ’80 & Douglas Taylor Lucas ’80
Jean M. & Robert A. Maddox
Kristine C. & Robert C. Marbourg
Teresa E. Markle
Nancy R. & Bernard T. Matus
Richard James Mitchell ’98
Susan E. & Steven E. Mull ’78
Theresa Boone ’75 & Brian J. Murphy ’75
Daniel Thomas Murtaugh ’90
Lisa Dawn Wood & Michael P. O’Brien ’68
Nadine Kettell-Osborn ’55 & Richard Warren Osborn
Susan G. & Robert W. Paul
Tara Damron Pettit ’92
Jean A. & Benjamin E. Porto
Karen C. Raley ’94 & Terry Daniel Reese
Karen J. Horton & John J. Roberts
Susan C. Priore & James Anthony Rogalski ’97
Katharine Anne Russell
Danielle E. Troyan ’92
Elizabeth F. & John A. Utter
Robert Stancell Waldschmitt
Jan Mandel-Weitzel & Harry John Weitzel
Andrea Greifenberger & John Chambers Wobensmith ’93
$2,500 - $9,999
Leave a Legacy CONSIDER A NAMING OPPORTUNITY
Support the performing arts and future educators while making your mark at the Performing Arts Center or Learning Commons. For more information about naming a space, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 240-895-4282.
JOIN TODAY! Promote and support cultural and arts-related activities and programs at the College for the enrichment and enjoyment of the Southern Maryland community. Membership benefits include special access to tickets and parking for events. www.smcm.edu/events/arts-alliance
College President
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD
St. Mary’s College of Maryland Board of Trustees
as of July 1, 2022
Chair
Susan Dyer
Vice-Chair
Paula Collins Treasurer
John Chambers Wobensmith ’93
Secretary
Nicolas Abrams ’99
Members
Carlos Alcazar
Anirban Basu
John Bell ’95
Alice Arcieri Bonner ’03 (Alumni Association)
Peter Bruns
Donny Bryan ’73
Mike Dougherty (HSMC)
Peg Duchesne ’77
Judith Filius ’79
Elizabeth Graves ’95
Gail Harmon, Esq.
Melanie Hilley ’92
The Honorable Sven Erik Holmes
The Honorable Steny Hoyer
Glen Ives, USN Retired
Lawrence Leak ’76
Doug Mayer ’04
Jesse Price ’92
Brayan Ruiz-Lopez ’24 (Student Trustee)
William Seale
Danielle Troyan ’92
Raymond Wernecke
St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation
Board of Directors
as of July 1, 2022
President
Bonnie Green ’74
Vice President
Paul Schultheis ’98
Treasurer
Chris Holt ’86
Secretary
Susan Paul Members
Brittany Toscano Gore ’08
Thomasina Hiers ’97
Michael P. O’Brien ’68
Bluford Putnam
Scott Raspa ’86
Dan Schiffman ’91
Edward Sirianno ’82
Nicole Lewis West
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD, ex officio
Carolyn Curry, executive director
Please review the plaques in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center for more listings of persons and entities who over the years made these new facilities possible.
WWW.SMCM.EDU