TheSpectacularSandlerCenterInauguralSeason!

SC E N T E R T A G Eautumn

2007

Cultural life in Virginia Beach takes

a giant leap forward in November, when the

beautiful new Sandler Center raises the

curtain on its star-studded first season.

Expect excellence throughout, as acclaimed

performers from around the world inaugurate

this stunning new center for the arts.

You’ll find music for every taste on the

Sandler Center calendar. Classical-minded?

Be there when virtuoso violinist Itzhak

Perlman blesses the new hall with his

soaring violin, November 3, and when the

extraordinary Canadian Brass turn brass

into shimmering gold on December 13. If

you love blues, Grammy-winning singer

Bonnie Raitt belts with the best, November

16, and Keb’ Mo’ channels the spirit of

blues master Robert Johnson, February 20.

Jazz fan? Hear the great guitarist alive,

when the Pat Metheny Trio performs

November 10. Fond of fiddling? Crazy

about Celtic music? Look no further:

Leahy brings tradition to fiery life with

fiddling and step-dancing, March 6; and

the world-renowned Chieftains sing

centuries of Celtic songs, March 12. And

for performances to wow the whole family,

check out Nickel Creek November 7,

Shaolin Warriors November 8 and the

amazing acrobatic dancers of Aeros

February 5.

If you’re making holiday plans, grab your

seats for the sure-to-sell-out Drifters,

Platters, and Coasters concert

Thanksgiving Saturday, November 24. The

always amazing Vienna Choir Boys usher in

the holiday season December 4; and the

artists of Windham Hill lead an enchanting

winter solstice journey December 7. And for

the ultimate holiday treat, make a date with

“the best in the business,” the legendary

Tony Bennett, December 14.

With its impeccable acoustics,

the Sandler Center is perfect for

music; but this new stage also

offers a wonderful setting for dance and

theatre. Experience the smoldering passion

of Tango Fire, January 9, and the heart-

pounding agility and grace of the

Complexions dance company February 8.

Rediscover the best of the Bard with the

Merchant of Venice, March 20, and let the

classic musical Gypsy entertain you May 8.

There’s much more on the calendar,

including performances by Sandler Center’s

resident arts groups like Symphonicity,

Virginia Musical Theatre, Virginia

Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Beach

Chorale, Virginia Beach Forum, and more!

For a complete listing of the 2007-2008

Sandler Center performances, visit

www.sandlercenter.org.

Ordering tickets is easy! Order online at

coxtix.com or sandlercenter.org, order by

phone at 1-888-3-COXTIX. Tickets are also

available at the Sandler Center box office,

or at Tidewater Sports & Collectibles

locations. Hurry, some performances are

already selling out!

I N S I D Ep.2 4+ 50=Arts For All

p.3 Wood FamilyHonored

p.4 Take A Seat

Newsletter forFriends of theSandlerCenter for the PerformingArts

◗ Spring 2005 Official groundbreaking ceremony of the Performing Arts Center at Town Center

◗ September 2005Steve and Art Sandler donated $5million to name the center: SandlerCenter for the Performing Arts.

◗Setting theStage

Can it really have been four years since

50 of us first got together to work toward

November’s “big event”: the dedication

and opening of the Sandler Center for the

Performing Arts? Hard to believe.

In some ways, it feels like yesterday.

But when I look back over my calendar,

I realize that, indeed, quite a number of

“yesterdays” – and, no small amount of

energy, effort and imagination (not to

mention meetings!) – have gone into

making it happen.

And happen it will, beginning on

November 1 at 10:00 a.m. with the

dedication ceremony at which we will

recognize and honor the “founding fifty” –

the dedicated members of the Sandler

Center’s Citizens Advisory Committee

who were instrumental in helping us

realize the vision of a venue that will make

the arts accessible in bigger and better

ways to all of Hampton Roads.

The Advisory Committee is comprised of

leading Virginia Beach residents who were

appointed by the Virginia Beach City

Council to help shepherd this important

and exciting project. It has been such a

privilege to work with them to this end

over the past several years – you’ll see the

legacy of their creativity and enthusiasm

every time you attend a Sandler Center

performance, enjoy an outdoor lunchtime

concert or see an excited schoolgroup tour

the facility and meet the performers.

On behalf of all of us who will enjoy the

Sandler Center in the years to come, we

thank them

for this

generous gift

of time and

talent.

Take a bow,

ladies and

gentlemen.

Now, on with

the show!

Warm Regards,

Dorothy Wood

Chair, Citizens Advisory Committee

Vice Chair, Virginia Beach Performing Arts

Center Foundation

Four x 50 = Arts For All The Norfolk Foundation recently made a

generous grant of $200,000 to the Virginia

Beach Performing Arts Center Foundation,

awarding $120,000 to the capital campaign and

$80,000 for the purchase of a Steinway D

Concert piano.

According to Angelica Light, President and CEO

of The Norfolk Foundation, the grant was in

response to a competitive application and was

based on the organization’s programming plans

and ability to attract the financial participation

of board members, businesses and individuals in

its capital campaign.

“We were impressed by the Sandler Center’s

vibrancy and plans to attract new audiences…

We feel strongly that it will enhance accessibility

to the arts, especially for those on the eastern

end of our metropolitan area.”

The piano grant was made from The Norfolk

Foundation's E.K. Sloane Fund, a field of

interest fund that provides pianos to nonprofit

organizations. “Helping fund the arts across our

region is a critical part of our mission,” says

Light. Arts and Culture represented 23 percent

of Foundation’s regional grantmaking in 2006,

second only to Family, Child and Social Welfare,

which represented 32 percent.

The Norfolk Foundation, established in 1950,

funds projects and organizations throughout the

region. For more information, call 757.622.7951

or go to www.norfolkfoundation.org.

Gifts Are ‘Key’ InSetting The Stage

f

◗ Spring 2006Breck Wood donated $750,000 toname the Founders Room in honor of his parents, Ann and William E. Wood.

◗ Summer 2007Sandler Center Inaugural Seasonannounced and tickets went on sale.

◗ November 2007Grand Opening of the Sandler Centerfor the Performing Arts.

Virginia Beach native W. Breck Wood

grew up on a 200-acre working farm in

Kempsville. In fact, it was on that very

land that his father, William E. Wood, and

mother, Anne, would later open the

corporate headquarters of one of the top

real estate firms in Hampton Roads:

William E. Wood.

Breck inherited his father’s strong work

ethic. As a young man, Breck earned a

two-year associate’s degree in business

from Reid McCray College in Bingham,

North Carolina, while also serving as a

volunteer firefighter.

He later served in the United States Navy

as a member of the beach jumpers–a

division of highly trained parachutists who

were given top-secret missions to land on

enemy beaches.

“He served as a paratrooper at the same

time he was a life insurance salesman for

Metropolitan Life, and he would drive a

cab at night,” recalled his son, Vince, who

joined the family business as a teen, at

first mowing lawns and doing odd jobs

before earning his real estate license at

age 20. “He had a very strong work ethic

and was a very driven individual.”

It was in the early 1970s when William E.

Wood and wife, Anne, decided to start

their business. By the end of the first year,

the company had an insurance and real

estate titling division – which Breck

managed – a farm, land management and

consulting department and the

commercial-industrial-investment division.

Upon his father’s death in 1991, Breck

took over the business as CEO and ran it

alongside his mother and close associate,

along with another long-time associate,

Dick Thurmond, who serves as president.

Breck – who loved to scuba dive – was

known for his sense of adventure.

“My father’s true passion in life was real

estate, followed closely by his love of

travel,” said Vince. “He literally stepped

foot on every continent on the earth.

That’s a distinction he was very proud of.”

In addition to a strong work ethic and

sense of adventure, William and Anne

Wood instilled in Breck the desire to give

back to the community–whether in big or

small ways.

“For years he made Meals on Wheels

deliveries every month,” confided Rose

Ann Coker, long-time William E. Wood

and Associates employee. “He was a very

kind-hearted person–a philanthropist, but

in a private way.”

Vince, who went on to work in every area

of the company, trying to learn as much as

he could from his father, agrees.

“He was always a man of very strong faith.

A man who cared not only about his

family, but also about the community. He

gave unselfishly to many people for many

years. He always did this and he always

did it very quietly and very anonymously.

He never did these things for the

recognition.”

In the case of the Sandler Center for the

Performing Arts, the result of Breck’s

$750,000 gift will be an elegantly

appointed Founders Room/Donors Lounge

on the mezzanine level with elevator

access, private kitchenette and restrooms.

Named in memory of his father and in

honor of his mother, the room will serve

as a special and lasting tribute for the

entire Wood family.

Toying with an analogy, Vince likened his

father to the Great Wizard of Oz – in

reality, just an ordinary man who worked

quietly and diligently behind the scenes to

make extraordinary things happen.

“Throughout his life he had the golden

touch,” said Vince, who named his son

after his father. “Everything he became a

part of became successful, and I think his

positive and unassuming attitude made a

lot of special things happen for him and

for all of us.”

He was a very kind-hearted person – a philanthropist, but in a private way. – Rose Ann Coker

W. Breck Wood Donates $750,000 Names Founders Room in Honor of his Parents

It may sound like the beginning of an old

Henny Youngman joke, but now you can

not only “have a seat” at the Sandler

Center for the Performing Arts, you can

literally have that seat – permanently.

For a tax-deductible contribution of $1,000

to the Sandler Center Endowment Fund,

you can have the name of your choice

engraved on one of the Center’s 1,300

seats. It’s a wonderful way to show your

support for the arts and to recognize

someone special.

The Sandler Center will send you a letter

confirming your seat and its location.

When you call for tickets, you can

specifically request “your” seat for reserved

events and performances (while we cannot

absolutely guarantee its availability, we will

do our utmost to accommodate.) Patrons

may purchase more than one seat, and

should specify if they’d like them to

be adjacent.

For more information on this or

other naming opportunities, please

call 757.385.0227 or go to

www.sandlercenter.org.

Take A Seat… Please!

SC E N T E R T A G ENewsletter for Friends of theSandlerCenter for the PerformingArts

FOUNDATION MEMBERSLinwood O. Branch, III, PresidentDorothy L. Wood, Vice PresidentJohn A. Tilhou, SecretaryThomas A. Rucker, TreasurerKenneth V. GeroeWilliam W. Harrison, Jr.Glen A. HuffCheryl P. McLeskeyLaura M. MillerAnnie L. SandlerArthur B. SandlerSteven B.SandlerToni R. Sandler

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN STEERING COMMITTEEDavid M. BrashearCarol CohenNancy A. CreechAnn K. CrenshawNancy DeFordGerald S. DivarisMichael B. DivarisThomas R. FrantzLouis S. HaddadAubrey Layne, Jr.Ina LevyBarbara H. LewisFrederick J. NapolitanoRichard E. OlivieriVincent R. OlivieriDavid PaskoJoyce Strelitz

Center Stage StaffEmily Spruill, DirectorLisa Alejo, Coordinator

PO Box 66129

Town Center of Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, Virginia 23466-6129

757-385-0227 phone

757-499-9894 fax

www.sandlercenter.org