Weekend to Remember

The College threw a spectacular weekend-long party to celebrate the formal opening of the James J. Whalen Center for Music.

Friday night events were kicked off by a dinner honoring those who had made the new center possible. Chief among the honorees were Marjorie "Marge" Rooke Schwab ’69, chair of the music campaign, and president emeritus James J. Whalen. Former president Ellis Phillips Jr. was a special guest.

At right, President Peggy Ryan Williams speaks to a huge gathering at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Dinner was followed by a concert in the new recital hall, featuring a surprise announcement and performance. Thanks to a generous anonymous gift, Ithaca students will receive scholarships to attend classes at the University of Limerick’s Irish World Music Centre.

	Noted composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist Micheál O’Súilleabháin, director of the center, showed up to play a Yeats work set to music and to lead the audience in singing "Danny Boy" as a tribute to Whalen.
A beautiful fall Saturday was the setting for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and community open house. At right, chair of the board of trustees Herman E. Muller Jr. ’51, campaign chair Marjorie "Marge" Rooke Schwab ’69, President Williams, president emeritus James J. Whalen, and School of Music dean Arthur Ostrander make it official.
	Dozens of performances by faculty and student ensembles were held in various spaces in the new building. Saturday evening brought faculty and alumni to the stage in the refurbished Ford Hall.

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Photos by Bill Truslow and Art/Science Studio\Lab