Photo by Heidi Schumann
Monday night, at the Community Music Center's Spring Gala in the Mark Cavagnero-designed SFJAZZ, CMC Executive Director Christopher Borg announced that Cavagnero has been selected to design a new home for the organization, long squeezed into a small — if impressive — space in the Mission.
Founded in 1921, the Center serves 2,300 students annually, along with hundreds of seniors in coaching, training, and public performances. The Capp Street facility is cramped, very much at capacity, with waiting lists for prime lesson times, and offsite teaching due to limited classroom space.
The $10-12 million project, starting with the 2012 purchase of the property next to the Mission District Branch (in the photo, the current Center is on the right, the additional building on the left), received a big boost with gifts from CMC’s board of directors and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, coupled with financing from the Northern California Community Loan Foundation. Borg said:
We believe that music transforms lives and that everyone should have access to a high quality music education.The expanded campus will prepare Community Music Center well for our second century of serving Bay Area residents.
Integrating the Victorian next door to CMC’s home at 544 Capp Street will nearly double the center’s capacity to offer music lessons and classes. When the campus is completed, students, faculty, staff and performers will enjoy more teaching studios, ensemble rehearsal spaces, work areas, and a state-of-the-art renovated concert hall.