The musical score for a campaign for a UC Davis performing arts hall is marked pianissimo no more. The dynamics shift to forte with the public launch of a fund-raising effort to build a much-needed campus auditorium. To inaugurate the $30 million campaign, a gala evening takes place Saturday, Jan. 23, highlighted by an 8 p.m. sold-out performance by violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. Newsweek describes Perlman as "the Pavarotti of the violin. ... He communicates what only the great artists-Rubinstein, Rostroprovich, Segovia, Horowitz-have." Perlman will perform in Sacramento's Community Center Theater accompanied by pianist Janet Guggenheim as part of UC Davis Presents' AT&T Landmark series. The public launch of the campaign follows two years of intensive behind-the-scenes research and development efforts to bring a new stage for the arts to the capital region. By the evening of Jan. 23, campus officials hope to have reached one-third of the campaign's goal. The UC Davis Center for the Arts will have two components: an 1,800-seat main hall with state-of-the-art technology offering excellent acoustics for musical, dramatic and dance performances, and a studio theater to host dance and choral performances, lectures and theater productions for audiences of up to 250 people. The proposed performance hall will be constructed next to the UC Davis Arboretum and the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, adjacent to Interstate 80. The project's cost is estimated at $52.4 million, $30 million of which will come from private donations and the remainder from non-state campus funds, assuring that the hall is built in true partnership with the larger community. Building such a center is a longtime campus dream. "I have long felt there is one major resource that is lacking on this campus. That resource is a center for the performing arts," says UC Davis Chancellor Larry N. Vanderhoef. "It is a laboratory for the fine arts and humanities." Designed by BOORA Architects of Portland, Ore., the center will enhance UC Davis' reputation as a first-rate, comprehensive university by raising the profile of the arts and humanities to that of its top-ranked programs in medicine, law, agriculture, veterinary medicine and the sciences. "This performance hall represents the university's commitment to continue providing complete and comprehensive educational opportunities to a growing body of students," says Gina Kelsch, associate vice chancellor for university relations, "and to be a fully engaged component in the community that supports us." The performing arts center will also help UC Davis maintain a top-flight faculty, campus officials say. "It is more true now than ever before that a quality performing arts center is essential to recruiting the best faculty, not just in the arts and humanities, but in all fields," Vanderhoef says. "Its value as a tangible sign of campus commitment to the arts and humanities and to the full development of its students' and faculty's creative potential cannot be underestimated." The campus's current venues lack essential elements for the effective presentation of the performing arts, say campus leaders and arts supporters. The primary facility, Freeborn Hall, a multi-purpose facility seating 1,300 and built more than 35 years ago, hosts everything from farm conferences to the Guarneri String Quartet. Despite facility improvements, Freeborn's flat floor and acoustical and technical limitations persist as problems. Main Theatre is a traditional proscenium theater seating 450 that provides the stage for campus theatrical and dance department events, but is rarely available for other events. "The facilities on the UC Davis campus now are inadequate for a moving artistic experience," says Mary Retzer, a supporter of the arts at UC Davis and a physician with the California Department of Health. "We need a performance hall that will provide the possibility of engagement between the artist and the audience." 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. The new performance center is slated to open in 2002 -- launching a new era of artistry and cultural diversity to serve UC Davis and the capital region.