Ribbon Cutting Reception for Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts Recognizes the Contributions of Dr. Leonard Tow '50 and Other Distinguished Guests
Nov. 2, 2018
The state-of-the-art, LEED-certified building will house Brooklyn College's Department of Theater and Conservatory of Music, and serve as hub for arts and culture in the borough.
Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson (left), founder and chairman of The Tow Foundation Leonard Tow '50, and Executive Director and President of The Tow Foundation Emily Tow Jackson cut the ribbon at a ceremony celebrating the opening of the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts.
Evan Silverstein ’76, chair, Brooklyn College Foundation Board of Trustees, and Ed Cohen ’62, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee.
Student quartet: Annie Hung and Samer Chiaviello, violins; Jacob Szilagi, viola; and Cassandra Mehl, cello.
Ellen Koppleman; Bernie Garil ’62, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee; and Ethel Garil.
Jeffrey Sigler ’92, immediate past president, Brooklyn College Alumni Association, and Philip Berry, acting chairperson, City University Construction Fund.
A scenic evening view of the new Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts.
Mark Beiderman and Pam Gillman Levit ’68.
View from the second-floor balcony.
Doris Bien-Aime ’13, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee; Nadya Drukker, executive director, Tanger Hillel House at Brooklyn College; and Jeffery Sigler ’92, immediate past president, Brooklyn College Alumni Association.
Grand view of the interior of the Tow Center.
Leonard Tow ’50, founder and chairman of The Tow Foundation.
Todd Galitz, vice president of institutional advancement, Brooklyn College; Don Buchwald ’59, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee; Michelle J. Anderson, president, Brooklyn College; Leonard Tow ’50, founder and chairman, The Tow Foundation; Emily Tow Jackson, executive director and president, The Tow Foundation; Ed Cohen ’62, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee; Vita C. Rabinowitz, interim chancellor, CUNY; Philip Berry, acting chairperson, City University Construction Fund; and Judy Bergtraum, senior vice chancellor for facilities planning, construction and management, CUNY.
Sam Beller ’59, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee, and Eva Beller.
Ed Cohen ’62, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee, and Doris Cohen.
The entrance looks out onto the new pedestrian plaza at Hillel Place.
Joanna Underwood, standing with one of the paintings she donated by her late husband, artist Saul Lambert ’50, on permanent display throughout the Tow Center.
Ella Weiss ’62, ’65 M.S., president, Brooklyn College Alumni Association; Scott Herman ’80, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee; and Beth Herman ’80.
Oskar Eustis, artistic director, the Public Theater; Emily Tow Jackson, executive director and president, The Tow Foundation; Leonard Tow ’50, founder and chairman, The Tow Foundation; Frank Tow, vice president, The Tow Foundation; and Michelle J. Anderson, president, Brooklyn College.
Students in one of the Tow Center's lounge areas.
Don Buchwald ’59, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee; Christoph M. Kimmich, former president, Brooklyn College (2000–09); Leonard Tow ’50, founder and chairman, The Tow Foundation; Michelle J. Anderson, president, Brooklyn College; and Karen Gould, former president, Brooklyn College (2009–16).
Michelle J. Anderson, president, Brooklyn College, and Len Kurz, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee.
Jumaane D. Williams ’01, New York City Council Member.
Students practice in one of the state-of-the-art rehearsal spaces.
Murray Koppelman ’57, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee.
Don Buchwald ’59, Brooklyn College Foundation trustee.
The new Don Buchwald Theater inside the Tow Center.
Frank Tow, vice president, The Tow Foundation; Emily Tow Jackson, executive director and president, The Tow Foundation; Olivia Tow; and Leonard Tow ’50, founder and chairman, The Tow Foundation.
Philip Berry, acting chairperson, City University Construction Fund; Vita C. Rabinowitz, interim chancellor, CUNY; Leonard Tow ’50, founder and chairman, The Tow Foundation; Michelle J. Anderson, president, Brooklyn College; and Emily Tow Jackson, executive director and president, The Tow Foundation.
Assistant Professor, Director of Choruses, and Coordinator of Voice Studies Malcolm J. Merriweather leads his students in one of the new performance spaces in the Tow Center.
A ribbon cutting reception for the new Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts welcomed distinguished guests Leonard Tow '50, founder and chairman of The Tow Foundation, who, together with his wife, the late Claire Tow '52, donated $10 million toward the construction of the center; public relations mogul Don Buchwald '59, for whom the 225-seat theater inside the complex is named; and officials from the New York State, New York City, and The City University of New York (CUNY). Both Tow and Buchwald are members of the Brooklyn College Foundation Board of Trustees.
"The new Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts is a magnificent addition to our beautiful campus," said Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson. "This cutting-edge facility will serve as a much needed nexus of creativity for our talented students, as well a vibrant center for arts and culture in the borough."
Tow Performing Arts Center, Brooklyn College
Sitting at the intersection of Campus Road and Hillel Place, the center provides a spectacular new entrance to the 35-acre campus, where many of the more than 18,000 Brooklyn College students access the college daily. The building was designed by Pfeiffer Architects, which worked closely with faculty and administrators from both CUNY and Brooklyn College to create a structure that transforms the interface between the college and its vicinity, while meeting the pressing needs of the Department of Theater and the Conservatory of Music, which are now housed in the center.
Central to the building is the 225-seat multi-purpose Don Buchwald Theater, which provides a stage extension and seating lifts, and retained the old Gershwin Theater stage but with new variable acoustics and an acoustic shell. The space can quickly go from a proscenium theater to a classically shaped concert hall, and can accommodate a full orchestra.
The Tow Center also features a 30-foot-high orchestra rehearsal room on the second level that doubles as a performance and rehearsal space; a Performance and Media Interactive Arts (PIMA) Program sound lab; a scene shop for set construction; nine music studios; three percussion practice rooms; and a recording studio.
Through The Tow Foundation, Leonard and Claire Tow have contributed generously to their alma mater, where they first met. For more than two decades, their foundation has provided endowments for student internship programs and student scholarships. They have also supported faculty travel fellowships, and undergraduate travel stipends for students to conduct research outside of the United States.
Brooklyn College is able to provide its students with the state-of-the-art learning environments they need to flourish in their artistic and career endeavors thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends received through the Brooklyn College Foundation. To learn about the various ways to contribute to student success, please visit the foundation's website.
