Sonoma State University Foundation

In recognition of the Hewlett Foundation’s 50th anniversary, the Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions initiative supports the creation and premiere of 50 exceptional works of performing arts. This grant to the Sonoma State University Foundation will support the university’s Green Music Center in developing and presenting "Wicked Bodies (Sonoma)" by choreographer Liz Lerman. "Wicked Bodies (Sonoma)" will reflect on crones and stepmothers, exploring the historic representation of women and their bodies across diverse cultures.

The Green Music Center at Sonoma State University promises to be a "Tanglewood of the West" -- a facility that upon completion will immediately become one of California’s premiere performance venues. Built on 25 acres of the university campus, the centerpiece is a 1,400-seat concert hall designed by the architect and acoustician who built Tanglewood. The multi-use complex will include a 10,000-seat grass amphitheatre, a smaller recital hall, a restaurant and hospitality center, and a music education wing with soundproof practice rooms, music classrooms, and acoustically-designed jazz and orchestral rehearsal rooms. This grant specifically would support the completion of the Founder's Room, a space adjacent to the Weill Concert Hall designed to be used by and for the artists and donors (e.g., receptions, events), in time for the Center's opening in Fall 2012. It is noteworthy to mention that a number of Performing Arts grantees will have access to using the space, including the San Francisco Symphony and the Santa Rosa Symphony, the latter being the Center's new orchestra in residence.

Green Music Center at Sonoma State University is a multi-discipline presenting organization that offers a diverse array of approximately 170 annual concerts and recitals in classical, jazz, and world music for audiences of more than 60,000 people each year. Green Music Center includes a 1,400-seat concert hall with flexible outdoor seating for an additional 7,000 audience members, a 240-seat recital hall, and an academic wing and hospitality suite. It is home to the Santa Rosa Symphony, and regularly features other Hewlett Foundation grantees, including Philharmonia Baroque and the San Francisco Symphony, as well as touring artists and ensembles from around the world.