Elsa von Seggern Foundation Makes a $1 Million Commitment to Support the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.Business Editors DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2003 The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts This article or section contains information about expected future buildings or structures. Some or all of this information may be speculative, and the content may change as building construction begins. Foundation today announced a $1 million commitment from the Elsa von Seggern Foundation to help design and build the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The gift will honor Ms. von Seggern's long-standing support of The Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas (USA). It was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicola Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director. and other Dallas performing arts organizations. Cumulative gifts to The Dallas Opera from Ms. von Seggern total more than $4.1 million. "For more than 30 years, Elsa von Seggern maintained a great affection for The Dallas Opera as manifested in her attendance at the Opera's annual performances and through her generous financial support," said Gene Saur, Trustee of the Elsa von Seggern Foundation. "Ms. von Seggern would have been very excited about the construction of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and especially the Center's Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House This article or section contains information about expected future buildings or structures. Some or all of this information may be speculative, and the content may change as building construction begins. . It is for these reasons that the Elsa von Seggern Foundation Board of Directors has made this commitment in her honor." Elsa von Seggern was recognized as one of the most generous contributors in the history of The Dallas Opera. She sponsored 14 operas in full and gave generously to many other opera performances while implementing business leadership to bring The Dallas Opera to financial stability. Ms. von Seggern was also supportive of many other performing arts including the Dallas Ballet, Dallas Symphony and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas. This was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto. in Fort Worth. "The generous commitment from the Elsa von Seggern Foundation is a testament to Ms. von Seggern's long-time support of The Dallas Opera and her Foundation's commitment to provide Dallas families with world-class facilities in which to enjoy the performing arts," said Bill Lively, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation. "During her career, Ms. von Seggern was a very successful businesswoman and she cared deeply about the performing arts. I believe that, if were she alive today, she would certainly appreciate the cultural influence the Center will have on Dallas families for the next century and the enormity e·nor·mi·ty n. pl. e·nor·mi·ties 1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness. 2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage. 3. of the Center's economic impact on the entire region." Ms. von Seggern made her fortune with a heavy equipment business she founded in Dallas during the Great Depression. It was rare for a woman to own a business in the 1930s, but Ms. von Seggern's business, the Shovel Supply Co., grew quickly to include independent oil operations. In 1952, she was the only American invited to sit in the royal box at Queen Elizabeth's coronation coronation, ceremony of crowning and anointing a sovereign on his or her accession to the throne. Although a public ceremony inaugurating a new king or chief had long existed, a new religious service was added when Europe became Christianized. . About the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation: Organized in September 2000, the Foundation's mission is to complete planning and raise funds to design and construct the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The campaign is the largest of its kind in Dallas history, with current total gifts and pledges now at $127 million. The campaign's goal is to raise $210 million in the private sector with additional funds to be provided by the City of Dallas through a bond election. The Center will provide new performance space for The Dallas Opera, the Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas (USA). It produces classic, contemporary and new plays. The theater is based in the Kalita Humphreys Theater, a building designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. , Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folkorico and many of the other performing arts organizations that serve Dallas and the surrounding sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. area. |
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