submitted by Jocelyn Riley; photo by John Bonsett-Veal
From left: Club President Jason Beren, Sandra Gajic and Loretta Himmelsbach
Sandra Gajic, President and CEO of the Overture Center, treated Rotarians on Wednesday to a whirlwind overview of the history of Overture and plans for its future. The Overture Center, Gajic said, “was built to last 300 years,” but it needs renovations, citing a leaking roof and front doors so heavy that many people have trouble opening them.
The Overture Center, she said, is three ages in one (the original Capitol Theater, built in 1928; the Oscar Mayer Theater, built in 1974; and the Overture Center, which opened in 2004, funded by a $200 million gift from Jerry Frautschi & Pleasant Roland). The current facility “reminds me of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women,” Gajic said.
Despite the challenges of its complicated history and aging infrastructure, “over 12 million people have come to Overture over the years,” she said, citing both its impact on our ecomony and our community. In order to “meet its civic mandate and preserve the facility,” leaders of the Overture Center are pursuing a long-term goal to fund a $30 million endowment to make it “fully accessible for generations to come.” Ongoing and future initiatives include maximizing equity, innovation and inclusion by looking closely at policies such as recruiting ushers and removing barriers for people of limited means.
One future program involves arts-career exploration for high school and middle school students. As a student, Gajic studied piano and economics. “I absolutely love the arts,” she said, and she enjoys Overture’s diverse arts presentations, including Kids in the Rotunda, Duck Soup Cinema, Broadway shows, concerts, plays and art exhibits.
Ted DeDee outlined the challenges he faced when he became president and CEO of the Overture Center for the Arts in 2012 and the achievements at Overture during the six-year period that will end with his retirement at the end of the 2017-2018 season. DeDee inherited a public dispute about the management of Overture, as Overture was transferred from city management to private nonprofit status. He organized Overture as a start-up company while respecting the history of the Center and the role of the extraordinary Frautschi contribution. During those six years, Overture maintained a positive financial situation with donor support going from $12.4 million to $22.6 million; generated a cash reserve of a million dollars; and developed programming that included 11 weeks of Broadway shows that brought ticket buyers from all over the Midwest. DeDee particularly noted that the Frostiball had become an invaluable part of the Overture fundraising program.
Ted DeDee, fellow Rotarian and President and CEO of Overture Center for the Arts, (OC) gave an inspiring and information packed summary of the OC’s impact on the community in his talk to the Club at Alliant Energy Center on December 2. He began by noting the work of Club members on the OC’s Board & of other Rotarians to various OC activities. After stating that OC, financially, was “doing great” since its transition from a City operation to one run by a non-profit foundation, he indicated that the many activities of OC could be placed in three basic categories-Educating, Engaging and Entertaining – and then gave some examples in each.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 