Huntington Theatre Given $10 Million
Largest Donation in Company's History
By: Huntington Theatre Company - Apr 28, 2011
The Huntington Theatre Company announced today that the company has received an endowment gift of $10 million from the , the largest single gift in Huntington history, instantly doubling the size of the Huntington’s endowment. The gift is among the largest gifts to a theatre company in U.S. history and to any arts organization in Boston.
The Calderwood Foundation granted $4 million in 2004 to name the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion, which the Huntington built at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston’s South End and opened in 2004, plus an additional $1.5 million over the past three years. Prior to the establishment of the Foundation, founder Stanford Calderwood made two personal endowment gifts totaling $3 million, including naming the Huntington’s position of Artistic Director. Mr. Calderwood died in 2002, and his wife Norma Jean Calderwood passed away in 2006.
“Stan Calderwood believed in the great work that the Huntington Theatre Company has been doing since 1982 to bring the highest level of professional theatre to Boston audiences and to nurture new American playwrights,” said Calderwood Charitable Foundation Trustee John Cornish. “The Huntington honors Stan’s memory by making the Calderwood Pavilion a home for its new play development program and by making the venue available and accessible to so many Boston-based arts organizations.”
“The Foundation has been providing the Huntington with substantial operating support each year since the opening of the Calderwood Pavilion in 2004, but the life of the Foundation is limited,” says Foundation Trustee William Lowell. “This gift will assure that the Huntington will continue to enjoy operating support from the Calderwood Foundation in perpetuity. This is our strongest possible endorsement of the Huntington for its vital role in our community and in its professional and board leadership team.”
“I am extremely gratified by the generosity and faith in the Huntington that this gift represents,” says Huntington Managing Director Michael Maso. “I was privileged to have known Stan and Norma Jean Calderwood well, and feel very fortunate to have been able to continue that relationship with Calderwood Foundation Trustees John Cornish and Bill Lowell. This relationship represents a twenty-year continuum of exemplary giving to Boston’s arts community, and to the Huntington in particular. I could not be more grateful.”
“The Huntington has earned its standing as one of Boston’s legacy cultural institutions, and its Board of Trustees is committed to assuring its continued health and artistic vitality for future generations,” says Board Chairman Carol Deane. “This gift makes the Huntington stronger and more secure than ever before, but it does not alone guarantee our success. Therefore, we will use this generous gift as a catalyst and a challenge, launching a careful examination over the next twelve months of the Huntington’s long-term needs. The end result will be a plan that ensures the Huntington’s status as a major contributor to the cultural life of Boston for many years to come.”
“My position was named for Norma Jean Calderwood, and I’ve particularly loved directing in the beautiful spaces in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion,” says Artistic Director Peter DuBois. “Today it is thrilling to know that John and Bill share our vision of the Calderwood Pavilion as a dynamic Sound End theatrical hub dedicated to new American voices.”
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON
Since its founding in 1982, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston’s leading theatre company. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current. Led by Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso, the Huntington creates award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The Huntington is in residence at Boston University. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.
ABOUT THE CALDERWOOD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The Calderwood Charitable Foundation was established by Stan and Norma Jean Calderwood of Belmont, Massachusetts. The principal focus of the Foundation has been to support the arts and to foster improvements in expository writing skills at the school and college levels. John Cornish and Bill Lowell, partners of Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, are the Trustees of the Foundation. Since Stan Calderwood’s death in 2002, The Calderwood Charitable Foundation has distributed more than $50 million to charitable institutions, most of whom are located in the Greater Boston area.