Campus and regional leaders broke ground at a festive ceremony today for the new Center for the Arts at the University of California, Davis, during which a new gift for the project was announced. When completed, the new performance hall will feature an 1,800-seat main hall with state-of-the-art technology for excellent acoustics, and a studio theater for dance and choral performances, lectures and theater productions for audiences as large as 250. The center will be designed by BOORA Architects and built by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., which was awarded the construction contract in April. A total of $60.9 million will be spent to build and operate the performance hall, including the $53.5 million to construct the building, $2.4 million for startup costs and $5 million for an initial operating endowment. The center is being financed through a $30 million fund-raising campaign, a $15.4 million UC Regents' loan and $15.5 million in campus funds. To date, $42.9 million is in hand, including $12 million in pledges to the fund-raising campaign, which will continue throughout construction of the building, and the $30.9 million from the university. The figure includes a $625,000 gift from the Rumsey Indian Rancheria tribal council that was announced today at the festivities. The tribal council's gift, totaling $1 million, will provide $600,000 toward the performance hall's construction and $25,000 to support the UC Davis Presents' school matinee program. In addition, the gift provides $350,000 to endow a faculty chair in California Indian studies and $25,000 to fund a student internship in support of the campus's annual Native American Cultural Days and PowWow. The Center for the Arts' grand lobby will bear the Rumsey Indian Rancheria name. Earlier in the day, a brunch was held in honor of Chancellor Emeritus James H. Meyer. His former student assistants and members of the James H. Meyer Fellows gathered to announce their naming of the performance hall's Orchestra Circle, 200 of the hall's best seats. The new center will be a significant resource for the campus and the region. It will enhance UC Davis' reputation as a first-rate comprehensive university by raising the profile of its arts and humanities programs to that of its top-ranked programs in agriculture, engineering, medicine, law, veterinary medicine and the sciences. Elizabeth Langland, dean of the campus's Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, describes the center as a key aspect of a well-rounded research institution. "As necessary as laboratories are to science, the Center for the Arts will be to the vitality of the creative arts and humanities, to the flourishing of our mission of discovery and learning, and to the emergence of UC Davis as a top-ranked research university," Langland says. For those who will perform there, the center will be an unprecedented experience in the history of the campus. "For working Davis musicians, students and 'grown-ups' alike, the thrill is the promise of routinely learning and playing works of art in an environment that was intended from the outset as a place to hear fine music," said D. Kern Holoman, UC Davis professor of music, who spoke at this morning's groundbreaking. "That's pretty close to a first for us, and high time it is." For the region, the center "will illustrate the powerful force that is created when philanthropy, academics and an honest engagement in addressing society's needs come together," says UC Davis Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef. "The effects will include a vibrant social climate and economic multipliers for the Sacramento metropolitan region and points west, and an enhanced sense of place for the arts and humanities here at UC Davis." For audiences attending arts events at UC Davis, the center will be a stunning addition to the region. "The impact of a new venue such as the center is dramatic; it affects artists, audience and arts organizations on a number of levels. Artists from around the world -- from Africa and Europe, from Sacramento and UC Davis -- will appreciate the superior acoustics and the state-of-the-art technical facilities that the CFA will provide," says Brian McCurdy, who directs University Cultural Programs and UC Davis Presents, and who will oversee management of the center. "Our audience will love the elegant feel of the hall and will appreciate the ease of access the CFA provides, from its proximity to Interstate 80 to its well-lit and ample parking structure. "Finally, our partners in the arts -- the other regional arts organizations that join UC Davis Presents every year in the frenzied search for available stage space -- now have a new place they can call home. It's our pleasure to welcome our fellow arts producers and presenters to what will be one of the finest performing arts facilities in North America," McCurdy says. Those who pass by the site along Interstate 80 can see construction already, as the campus builds a new parking structure to accommodate the parking needs of future audiences at the center and the daily needs of campus faculty, staff and students. Among the attributes of the new performing arts hall will be an adjustable music shell surrounding the orchestra that will remain in place during symphonic and other musical performances but slide away during theatrical productions. Acoustical curtains will make it possible to "tune the room," modifying the environment to suit the event. The hall's suspended floor will eliminate any outside noise that might otherwise interfere with a performance. For information on how you can participate in the Center for the Arts Campaign, please call (530) 757-3391.