A seasoned Canadian performing arts manager will direct the University of California, Davis, arts presenting organization and play a major role in the opening of the campus's $53.5 million Center for the Arts in 2002. Brian McCurdy, 49, will become director of UC Davis Cultural Programs, which is also known as UC Davis Presents, the largest regional arts and lectures presenting organization in Northern California outside the Bay Area. He is expected to begin his work on campus in early October. For the past 18 years, McCurdy has managed performing arts organizations, including several centers in Canada. Currently McCurdy is the general manager of the Capitol Centre, in North Bay, Ontario, a complex that includes a 1,105-seat theater and an art gallery. There he books and markets more than 30 performances a season, including four series that consist of internationally known artists in classical music, Broadway shows and dance, among other genres. It is UC Davis Presents' excellent reputation in the arts performing industry, McCurdy says, that drew him to campus. "I was attracted to the quality of programming you've done and found that, along with the chance to open a new facility, to be an irresistible opportunity," McCurdy says. And it is McCurdy's years of experience managing arts organizations and opening new arts facilities that made him a natural choice to direct UC Davis Presents. "I could not be more pleased to have Brian join us. He brings a creativity and enthusiasm for the arts that is refreshing. He will be an ambassador for the performing arts -- building partnerships within the campus community and the greater Sacramento region," says Celeste Rose, vice chancellor for University Relations. "And at the same time, he has a proven track record for opening and managing new performing arts facilities that thrive," Rose says. UC Davis Presents offers annually more than 50 performances, including a community outreach program that offers more than 18,000 school children an opportunity to see live performing arts. For the 1999-2000 season, artists coming to the Sacramento region include Les Ballets Africains, the National Symphony Orchestra, Parsons Dance Company, Frederica von Stade and the Vienna Choir Boys. As UC Davis Presents director, McCurdy will manage a professional staff of 12 and oversee 200 volunteers, including the Friends of UC Davis Presents, and oversee a $2 million budget, a quarter of which comes from corporate, individual and government contributions. McCurdy will also play an instrumental role in the opening of UC Davis' Center for the Arts, which will contain two performance venues, including an 1,800-seat main hall and a 250-seat studio theater, as well as space for production, rehearsal and hospitality. Ground will be broken next winter for construction of the center, which is expected to open in 2002. Fundraising is currently underway for the center, to be financed by a combination of private gifts, non-state campus funds and loans. As McCurdy joins the campus, he says he will be focused on planning for the new facility, "and then looking at where we want to be from a programming point of view to take the steps necessary to be ready for the new building. "I'm certainly looking forward, also, to developing a closer working relationship with the academic [arts] departments," McCurdy says. McCurdy received his bachelor's degree in music from McGill University in Montreal, and his master's degree in arts administration from Northwestern University. He attended a 1992 Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley. He is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, the International Society of Performing Arts Administrators and is a founding member of the Canadian Arts Presenters Association.