Timeline of the Green Center

1997: Donald and Maureen Green each donate $5 million for a new choral building. The Greens were former members of the Sonoma County Bach Choir. Combined donation was at that time the largest in CSU system history.

SEPTEMBER 1998: Santa Rosa Symphony backers vote to move to the Green Music Center. In exchange they commit to raising $10 million as part of the partnership with the university. Agreement expands design proposal to include a 300 seat recital hall, practice rooms, lobby/banquet space, and recording facilities.

JULY 1999: Arminanas and Greens lead a group of local arts patrons and SSU music administrators on a tour of Tanglewood, the Lenox, Massachusetts summer home of The Boston Symphony Orchestra. Seiji Ozawa Hall set as the model for the project.

SUMMER 2000: Green Music Festival started as summer concert series intended to help spread the word about the Green Music Center and ramp up support for its programs. Inaugural festival launched with two outdoor concerts by the Santa Rosa Symphony: an Independence Day pops concert and a Midsummer Night on the Green.

OCTOBER 20, 2000: Despite clouds and a brief downpour, about 300 people attend the Music Center’s groundbreaking ceremony.
2000-2004: A boom in the construction industry forces the continued delay of construction, as bids for the project come in continually well over budget.

2004: Armiñana lays out a new financing plan. The Green Center will be a combined public-private venture with an academic wing paid for by state education-facilities bonds.

MARCH 1, 2006: Construction begins.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2006: Sale of $12.9 million in revenue bonds for construction of the Green Music Center. New cost estimate $87.7 million.

MARCH 11, 2007: Construction reaches its first milestone: All of the underground work is complete.

MAY 2007: SSU faculty issue a resounding vote of no-confidence for Arminana. The 73 percent vote was triggered in part by concern over the diversion of money, time, and energy toward the building of the Green Music Center.