Long-time Columbus philanthropists and Columbus Indiana Philharmonic supporters Bob and Helen Haddad have donated $1 million towards the Philharmonic’s Music Builds Community: A Campaign for Music and the Performing Arts.
The donation is being used toward expanding the existing conference room at the Philharmonic’s offices into a Community Events Center. The announcement was made during a press conference at Columbus City Hall Tuesday afternoon.
The gift was made in two parts – a $500,000 outright gift and $500,000 to be raised through matching funds.
The Haddads donated the building at 315 Franklin St. to the Philharmonic in 2016, providing a home base for offices and music education programs. In the same year, Enkei America donated a Shigeru Kawai Concert grand piano to the Philharmonic, with an intent that it be made available to piano students as well as the community.
The combination of these two gifts led to the idea to expand the conference room, said Philharmonic Executive Director Margaret Powers.
“There is not a facility in the community that met both the accessibility desired by Enkei America and the security needed for a piano of this caliber,” Powers said. “Expanding the conference room to create a flexible space that can be used as a recital hall for piano students and visiting artists appeared to be a viable option.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
