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Flourish Online Magazine | Winter 2007 |
October 6, 2007: An Evening of Excellence
By Cheryl Anderson Brown
View more images from the celebration surrounding the opening of the Bailey Performance Center. |
Even before the lights dimmed, something magical was happening in the new concert hall. Even before people took their seats, they were bubbling with enthusiasm. Even before they entered the grand, new atrium of the new performance center, an energy was buzzing in the cool night air. The moment so many had waited for, had finally arrived. Since the early 1990s, everyone had dreamed of the day when they could take a seat or take to the stage of a world-class concert hall on the Kennesaw State University campus. On Oct. 6, 2007, that dream came true with the official opening of the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center.
Upon arrival, guests were ushered into the Anna Henriquez Atrium with its display of sculptures from the Ruth Zuckerman Collection and into the Don Russell Clayton Gallery with its exhibition of works from the Athos Menaboni Collection. Then, the doors of the concert hall opened, welcoming the spirited crowd of alumni, students, faculty and friends from across campus, from throughout the community and from around the world.
“Tonight marks a significant milestone in the continuing growth of Kennesaw State University,” KSU President Daniel S. Papp welcomed the audience. “It represents not only the excellence of our overall academic program but also the remarkable relationship between the university and the community we serve.”
When College of the Arts Dean Joseph Meeks followed him to the podium, Meeks threw his arms in the air and gleefully shouted “Hallelujah! We are finally here!” A thunderous standing ovation nearly drowned out the sound of the KSU Chorale responding with the refrain from Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from the mezzanine.
International Steinway Artist Robert Henry was the first person to officially perform on the new Miss Mary Piano. A music alumnus, he is currently an artist-in-residence with the KSU music department. |
After recognizing key supporters in the full house, Meeks dedicated the new nine-foot Steinway D concert grand piano in memory of Mary Elizabeth Bailey, the mother of KSU Trustee Bobbie Bailey, who had purchased the piano. Meeks then surprised the more than 60 members of the Bailey family in attendance by inviting piano alumnus and International Steinway Artist Robert Henry to perform a special arrangement of “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace” on “Miss Mary,” as the students have nicknamed the new piano.
Everyone was still wiping away tears when Meeks retook the stage to dedicate the building’s atrium in honor of Anna F. Henriquez, a long-time arts supporter and Bailey family friend who chose to make a financial gift to show her dedication to the arts at Kennesaw State.
“Anna Henriquez has long built bridges in the community,” Meeks said about the BellSouth retiree who has been a long-term volunteer and donor for such organizations as UNICEF, Mission for the Homeless and Friends of Georgia Music. “Tonight we dedicate the Anna F. Henriquez Atrium in honor of a true humanitarian.”
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Then, the KSU Department of Music wowed the audience with a spectacularly moving and fast-paced concert. The lights dropped to black. A spotlight highlighted a percussionist at center stage beating out an African rhythm. More lights accented the members of the KSU Percussion Ensemble in the mezzanine above the stage. From there, the spotlighted alighted on stage left for a violin and guitar duet. Then, the light bounced to stage right for a Gershwin tune by the KSU Jazz Combo, then downstage for a sampling of Giordano and Puccini by members of the KSU Opera Theater, then stage left for a Bach cello solo, then light filtered from the mezzanine over house right for the dulcet tones of the KSU Chamber Singers before finally flooding the full stage for a highly charged rendition of “Cool” from Bernstein’s “West Side Story” by the KSU Wind Ensemble.
The audience left for intermission snapping their fingers and buzzing with chatter. Smile greeted smile as people shared their excitement with each other.
After intermission, they were greeted by a biographical video about Bobbie Bailey and her extraordinary career as an engineer, a businesswoman and a philanthropist. KSU President Emeritus Betty L. Siegel received warm applause as she took the mic to share personal stories of her long friendship with Bailey. Siegel and her husband, Joel, she said, had had dinner one evening with Bailey. During the conversation, Bailey, who had already named an athletic complex at KSU, asked if there was anything she could do to support the arts at Kennesaw State. Siegel, as it happened, had a folder in her bag about the performance center that had just started construction on campus. The next day, Bailey called Siegel and offered to make a gift to name the new building.
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When Siegel invited Bailey to the stage, Bailey laughingly said she remembered Siegel being a little more tenacious than she had recounted. Then, Bailey took on a more serious tone.
“This project touched my heart and inspired me to do something in memory of my mother,” said Bailey, whose gift of $1.75 million allowed her to name the new building the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center. “I’d like to think this evening is about her, not me. I am so honored that her love of music will be continued. My brothers and sisters and I learned from her to appreciate music. I am blessed to have a wonderful family and so many wonderful friends.”
Once the applause died down, Bailey suddenly asked President Papp, Dean Meeks, Byron Brown from Steinway & Sons, and her sister Audrey Morgan to come to the stage. As the bewildered quartet gathered around her, Bailey made a surprise announcement.
“After my visit to Steinway & Sons in New York [to select “Miss Mary”], I learned the importance of the university’s music department having Steinway accreditation. I was so inspired by their presentation, I am making the commitment to purchase the pianos necessary to make KSU an All-Steinway School of Music,” she said.
The audience roared approval as the small crowd at the podium teared up with joy. This latest gift includes 26 new pianos, bringing the grand total of Bailey’s contribution to more than $2 million, the largest gift the College of the Arts has ever received.
Dean Meeks was overwhelmed. “This is absolutely a dream realized,” he said. “This hall and the designation as an All-Steinway School will help make Kennesaw State one of the premier music schools in the Southeast.”
The KSU music students and faculty then demonstrated the already extraordinary quality of the music program with another marathon performance. They opened with the full stage lit for an excerpt of Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” by the KSU Orchestra. Focus then shifted to the audience where a narrator recited Wagner’s “Shepherd’s Call” with a backlit oboe response from the mezzanine. Focus shifted back to midstage for a taste of Cole Porter by the KSU Jazz Ensemble, then to stage left for a solo by guitarist Akerman and then to stage right for a Rachmaninoff piano composition. Then, the entire stage filled with light and the hall overfilled with the sound of the full KSU Orchestra and KSU Chamber Singers performing “Kyrie” from Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass.”
Once again, the crowd sprung to their feet in rapturous applause.
“I cannot think of an evening that I have ever enjoyed more,” said KSU education alumnus Russell Clayton, who donated the Menaboni art collection that now resides in the gallery named for him.
Clayton’s joy and pride were echoed by everyone present that evening and reflected on their faces as they hugged and kissed good-bye for the evening. With the last car’s departure, the Bailey Performance Center glowed against the clear night sky, ready to welcome everyone back again.
View more images from the celebration surrounding the opening of the Bailey Performance Center.
