TheSpectacularSandlerCenterInauguralSeason!
SC E N T E R T A G Eautumn
2007
Cultural life in Virginia Beach takes
a giant leap forward in November, when the
beautiful new Sandler Center raises the
curtain on its star-studded first season.
Expect excellence throughout, as acclaimed
performers from around the world inaugurate
this stunning new center for the arts.
You’ll find music for every taste on the
Sandler Center calendar. Classical-minded?
Be there when virtuoso violinist Itzhak
Perlman blesses the new hall with his
soaring violin, November 3, and when the
extraordinary Canadian Brass turn brass
into shimmering gold on December 13. If
you love blues, Grammy-winning singer
Bonnie Raitt belts with the best, November
16, and Keb’ Mo’ channels the spirit of
blues master Robert Johnson, February 20.
Jazz fan? Hear the great guitarist alive,
when the Pat Metheny Trio performs
November 10. Fond of fiddling? Crazy
about Celtic music? Look no further:
Leahy brings tradition to fiery life with
fiddling and step-dancing, March 6; and
the world-renowned Chieftains sing
centuries of Celtic songs, March 12. And
for performances to wow the whole family,
check out Nickel Creek November 7,
Shaolin Warriors November 8 and the
amazing acrobatic dancers of Aeros
February 5.
If you’re making holiday plans, grab your
seats for the sure-to-sell-out Drifters,
Platters, and Coasters concert
Thanksgiving Saturday, November 24. The
always amazing Vienna Choir Boys usher in
the holiday season December 4; and the
artists of Windham Hill lead an enchanting
winter solstice journey December 7. And for
the ultimate holiday treat, make a date with
“the best in the business,” the legendary
Tony Bennett, December 14.
With its impeccable acoustics,
the Sandler Center is perfect for
music; but this new stage also
offers a wonderful setting for dance and
theatre. Experience the smoldering passion
of Tango Fire, January 9, and the heart-
pounding agility and grace of the
Complexions dance company February 8.
Rediscover the best of the Bard with the
Merchant of Venice, March 20, and let the
classic musical Gypsy entertain you May 8.
There’s much more on the calendar,
including performances by Sandler Center’s
resident arts groups like Symphonicity,
Virginia Musical Theatre, Virginia
Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Beach
Chorale, Virginia Beach Forum, and more!
For a complete listing of the 2007-2008
Sandler Center performances, visit
www.sandlercenter.org.
Ordering tickets is easy! Order online at
coxtix.com or sandlercenter.org, order by
phone at 1-888-3-COXTIX. Tickets are also
available at the Sandler Center box office,
or at Tidewater Sports & Collectibles
locations. Hurry, some performances are
already selling out!
I N S I D Ep.2 4+ 50=Arts For All
p.3 Wood FamilyHonored
p.4 Take A Seat
Newsletter forFriends of theSandlerCenter for the PerformingArts
◗ Spring 2005 Official groundbreaking ceremony of the Performing Arts Center at Town Center
◗ September 2005Steve and Art Sandler donated $5million to name the center: SandlerCenter for the Performing Arts.
◗Setting theStage
Can it really have been four years since
50 of us first got together to work toward
November’s “big event”: the dedication
and opening of the Sandler Center for the
Performing Arts? Hard to believe.
In some ways, it feels like yesterday.
But when I look back over my calendar,
I realize that, indeed, quite a number of
“yesterdays” – and, no small amount of
energy, effort and imagination (not to
mention meetings!) – have gone into
making it happen.
And happen it will, beginning on
November 1 at 10:00 a.m. with the
dedication ceremony at which we will
recognize and honor the “founding fifty” –
the dedicated members of the Sandler
Center’s Citizens Advisory Committee
who were instrumental in helping us
realize the vision of a venue that will make
the arts accessible in bigger and better
ways to all of Hampton Roads.
The Advisory Committee is comprised of
leading Virginia Beach residents who were
appointed by the Virginia Beach City
Council to help shepherd this important
and exciting project. It has been such a
privilege to work with them to this end
over the past several years – you’ll see the
legacy of their creativity and enthusiasm
every time you attend a Sandler Center
performance, enjoy an outdoor lunchtime
concert or see an excited schoolgroup tour
the facility and meet the performers.
On behalf of all of us who will enjoy the
Sandler Center in the years to come, we
thank them
for this
generous gift
of time and
talent.
Take a bow,
ladies and
gentlemen.
Now, on with
the show!
Warm Regards,
Dorothy Wood
Chair, Citizens Advisory Committee
Vice Chair, Virginia Beach Performing Arts
Center Foundation
Four x 50 = Arts For All The Norfolk Foundation recently made a
generous grant of $200,000 to the Virginia
Beach Performing Arts Center Foundation,
awarding $120,000 to the capital campaign and
$80,000 for the purchase of a Steinway D
Concert piano.
According to Angelica Light, President and CEO
of The Norfolk Foundation, the grant was in
response to a competitive application and was
based on the organization’s programming plans
and ability to attract the financial participation
of board members, businesses and individuals in
its capital campaign.
“We were impressed by the Sandler Center’s
vibrancy and plans to attract new audiences…
We feel strongly that it will enhance accessibility
to the arts, especially for those on the eastern
end of our metropolitan area.”
The piano grant was made from The Norfolk
Foundation's E.K. Sloane Fund, a field of
interest fund that provides pianos to nonprofit
organizations. “Helping fund the arts across our
region is a critical part of our mission,” says
Light. Arts and Culture represented 23 percent
of Foundation’s regional grantmaking in 2006,
second only to Family, Child and Social Welfare,
which represented 32 percent.
The Norfolk Foundation, established in 1950,
funds projects and organizations throughout the
region. For more information, call 757.622.7951
or go to www.norfolkfoundation.org.
Gifts Are ‘Key’ InSetting The Stage
f
◗ Spring 2006Breck Wood donated $750,000 toname the Founders Room in honor of his parents, Ann and William E. Wood.
◗ Summer 2007Sandler Center Inaugural Seasonannounced and tickets went on sale.
◗ November 2007Grand Opening of the Sandler Centerfor the Performing Arts.
Virginia Beach native W. Breck Wood
grew up on a 200-acre working farm in
Kempsville. In fact, it was on that very
land that his father, William E. Wood, and
mother, Anne, would later open the
corporate headquarters of one of the top
real estate firms in Hampton Roads:
William E. Wood.
Breck inherited his father’s strong work
ethic. As a young man, Breck earned a
two-year associate’s degree in business
from Reid McCray College in Bingham,
North Carolina, while also serving as a
volunteer firefighter.
He later served in the United States Navy
as a member of the beach jumpers–a
division of highly trained parachutists who
were given top-secret missions to land on
enemy beaches.
“He served as a paratrooper at the same
time he was a life insurance salesman for
Metropolitan Life, and he would drive a
cab at night,” recalled his son, Vince, who
joined the family business as a teen, at
first mowing lawns and doing odd jobs
before earning his real estate license at
age 20. “He had a very strong work ethic
and was a very driven individual.”
It was in the early 1970s when William E.
Wood and wife, Anne, decided to start
their business. By the end of the first year,
the company had an insurance and real
estate titling division – which Breck
managed – a farm, land management and
consulting department and the
commercial-industrial-investment division.
Upon his father’s death in 1991, Breck
took over the business as CEO and ran it
alongside his mother and close associate,
along with another long-time associate,
Dick Thurmond, who serves as president.
Breck – who loved to scuba dive – was
known for his sense of adventure.
“My father’s true passion in life was real
estate, followed closely by his love of
travel,” said Vince. “He literally stepped
foot on every continent on the earth.
That’s a distinction he was very proud of.”
In addition to a strong work ethic and
sense of adventure, William and Anne
Wood instilled in Breck the desire to give
back to the community–whether in big or
small ways.
“For years he made Meals on Wheels
deliveries every month,” confided Rose
Ann Coker, long-time William E. Wood
and Associates employee. “He was a very
kind-hearted person–a philanthropist, but
in a private way.”
Vince, who went on to work in every area
of the company, trying to learn as much as
he could from his father, agrees.
“He was always a man of very strong faith.
A man who cared not only about his
family, but also about the community. He
gave unselfishly to many people for many
years. He always did this and he always
did it very quietly and very anonymously.
He never did these things for the
recognition.”
In the case of the Sandler Center for the
Performing Arts, the result of Breck’s
$750,000 gift will be an elegantly
appointed Founders Room/Donors Lounge
on the mezzanine level with elevator
access, private kitchenette and restrooms.
Named in memory of his father and in
honor of his mother, the room will serve
as a special and lasting tribute for the
entire Wood family.
Toying with an analogy, Vince likened his
father to the Great Wizard of Oz – in
reality, just an ordinary man who worked
quietly and diligently behind the scenes to
make extraordinary things happen.
“Throughout his life he had the golden
touch,” said Vince, who named his son
after his father. “Everything he became a
part of became successful, and I think his
positive and unassuming attitude made a
lot of special things happen for him and
for all of us.”
He was a very kind-hearted person – a philanthropist, but in a private way. – Rose Ann Coker
W. Breck Wood Donates $750,000 Names Founders Room in Honor of his Parents
It may sound like the beginning of an old
Henny Youngman joke, but now you can
not only “have a seat” at the Sandler
Center for the Performing Arts, you can
literally have that seat – permanently.
For a tax-deductible contribution of $1,000
to the Sandler Center Endowment Fund,
you can have the name of your choice
engraved on one of the Center’s 1,300
seats. It’s a wonderful way to show your
support for the arts and to recognize
someone special.
The Sandler Center will send you a letter
confirming your seat and its location.
When you call for tickets, you can
specifically request “your” seat for reserved
events and performances (while we cannot
absolutely guarantee its availability, we will
do our utmost to accommodate.) Patrons
may purchase more than one seat, and
should specify if they’d like them to
be adjacent.
For more information on this or
other naming opportunities, please
call 757.385.0227 or go to
www.sandlercenter.org.
Take A Seat… Please!
SC E N T E R T A G ENewsletter for Friends of theSandlerCenter for the PerformingArts
FOUNDATION MEMBERSLinwood O. Branch, III, PresidentDorothy L. Wood, Vice PresidentJohn A. Tilhou, SecretaryThomas A. Rucker, TreasurerKenneth V. GeroeWilliam W. Harrison, Jr.Glen A. HuffCheryl P. McLeskeyLaura M. MillerAnnie L. SandlerArthur B. SandlerSteven B.SandlerToni R. Sandler
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN STEERING COMMITTEEDavid M. BrashearCarol CohenNancy A. CreechAnn K. CrenshawNancy DeFordGerald S. DivarisMichael B. DivarisThomas R. FrantzLouis S. HaddadAubrey Layne, Jr.Ina LevyBarbara H. LewisFrederick J. NapolitanoRichard E. OlivieriVincent R. OlivieriDavid PaskoJoyce Strelitz
Center Stage StaffEmily Spruill, DirectorLisa Alejo, Coordinator
PO Box 66129
Town Center of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23466-6129
757-385-0227 phone
757-499-9894 fax
www.sandlercenter.org