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Schroeder Hall Opens in Sonoma

Janos Gereben on August 26, 2014
Schroeder Hall's Brombaugh organ, with organist James David Christie
Schroeder Hall's Brombaugh organ, with organist James David Christie

Schroeder — the Peanuts' piano-playing, Beethoven-worshipper, pursued by Lucy van Pelt — now has his name on a new building in Sonoma's Green Music Center

Philanthropist Jean Schulz named the building in recognition of her late husband, cartoonist Charles Schulz.

After gala concerts and special event, the past weekend featured some 100 artists in 10 free concerts, including pianist David Benoit, performing a "Tribute to Charlie Brown"; Santa Rosa Symphony Conductor Laureate and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Artistic Director Jeffrey Kahane, playing Beethoven and Chopin; recitals by Sonoma State University; and the christening of the hall's Brombaugh Opus 9 organ by James David Christie of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The Center's description:

Schroeder Hall's gently curving stone exterior and distinctive, swooping roofline punctuate the south perimeter of the Green Music Center grounds. Thousands of concertgoers have dined and danced in its shadow since the opening of Joan and Sanford I. Weill Hall and Lawn in 2012, and students have strode past its doors to classes in the Music Education Hall. For nearly 20 years, a dedicated group of founding donors and visionaries has championed the conception, construction, and completion of this landmark building for Sonoma State University.

Among its many uses, Schroeder Hall will host Sonoma State University Music Department's classes and concerts.