Green Music Center

The vision for the Green Music Center began as a joint inspiration of Donald and Maureen Green and Sonoma State University President Ruben Armiñana and his wife, Marne Olson. These four individuals love classical music and education, and saw the university as a potential home for a music venue unmatched by any in northern California.

As founding members of the Bach Choir at Sonoma State University, the Greens shared their love of choral music with fellow singers and the community at large. Like the University's other choral groups, however, they have to perform off-campus in community churches because the campus lacked a performance space designed to complement the unique acoustical requirements for choral music.

The idea for the center began when Donald and Maureen met Bach Choir Director and SSU Professor Bob Worth and lamented that Sonoma State University did not have a suitable hall for choral music. Don Green made a commitment to Bob Worth that if his company, Advanced Fibre Communications, had a successful public offering (which it later did), he would help build a new choral facility at Sonoma State University. President Ruben Armiñana was introduced to Donald and Maureen Green.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Armiñana and Ms. Olson had attended a concert at Seiji Ozawa Hall at the famed Tanglewood Music Center. They were impressed by the acoustical perfection of the hall and intrigued by its design. The rear wall of the hall opens to a sweeping lawn that allows concert-goers to picnic and enjoy the weather and scenery as well as the performance. Dr. Armiñana and Ms. Olson immediately realized that Sonoma State University provided the perfect West Coast setting for such a hall. Where could the weather be better, the scenery more striking, the local food and wine finer and more celebrated?

The Greens were introduced to the idea of its Ozawa Hall as a model, expanding the idea of a choral hall. The Greens visited and experienced the Tanglewood summer festival and saw the impact on the community through performances, students, rehearsals, and master classes. The larger vision was agreed upon and almost immediately began the planning of the great center.

The Greens embraced the idea and made the founding gift to propel the project forward. The Santa Rosa Symphony soon were invited to make the Green Music Center its new performance home and committed to help raise funds for the project. Architect William Rawn and acoustician Lawrence Kirkegaard, both of who designed Ozawa Hall, were chosen to design the Green Music Center concert hall on the same model.

Fundraising for the Center has become a joint public-private endeavor. In 2006, all pieces of the funding fell into place with approval of state funds to construct another building in the complex, an academic building. The commitment of most of the private funds needed to construct the concert hall moved the project forward. An investment by Sonoma State Enterprises (its retail operation) in a hospitality center rounded out the plans for the Donald and Maureen Green Music Center.

By supporting the Center you can become part of the history of this magnificent venue for music, arts and ideas, and the blending of outstanding artistry with first-rate educational opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds.