Arts program aims to raise $1 million

Portland State’s School of Fine and Performing Arts will attempt to raise $1 million in endowment funds for its opera program in the next five years through increased fundraising and a matching grant.

Jeannine B. Cowles, former opera singer and long-time supporter of the opera program at Portland State, said she will provide a matching grant of $100,000 for every $200,000 the university raises. If PSU reaches its goal of $1 million, Cowles will give a total of $500,000, providing the opera program with a total of $1.5 million.

There are already a number of donors who support the opera program on a year-to-year basis, according to Trish Trout, director of development in the School of Fine and Performing Arts at PSU. The fundraising program will ask previous supporters to commit to five-year pledges, increasing the amount they give each year.

The department is also forming a committee of opera supporters to reach out to other people interested in the program that have not yet donated.

The earnings from the fundraiser will help fund the production for the program. Past opera productions have cost between $60,000 and $100,000, depending on the opera selection, stage and set complexity, costumes, orchestra and other aspects, Trout said. In previous years the performing arts department had to pay these costs, she said.

“This is a one-time opportunity for us,” Trout said about donation matches from Cowles.

Although there have not been many actual donations yet, a number of verbal pledges have been made, Trout said.

The performing arts department has been working with Cowles to develop the terms of the challenge since last fall. PSU will have five years to reach the $1 million program goal, Trout said.

Plans for the fundraiser were announced on opening night of the PSU opera program’s production of Cosi fan tutte in April. About 175 guests attended the evening reception, Trout said.

“We had a great response from our guests initially and checks have already started coming in just based on the announcement,” she said.

Trout said the response has also been good because of the high-quality performances and work put into the opera program’s productions.

“Performances were very good this year,” Trout said. “Everyone became very enthusiastic about the challenge.”

PSU’s opera program is nationally renowned and has twice been named the best collegiate opera in the nation by the National Opera Association. Previously the program has received recognition by the opera association for its productions of The Marriage of Figaro in 2000 and Don Giovanni in 2003.

All this is possible because of Cowles’ contributions to the program, Trout said. Cowles has been supporting the program for 20 years, and this is her third endowment program at PSU.

Cowles is responsible for the Distinguished Professorship in Residence endowment, which brings an internationally renowned opera artist to coach and work with the PSU students each year.

This year’s artist was opera stage director Tito Capobianco, founder and director of the American Opera Center at the Juilliard School of Music. Capobianco worked with the program throughout April in preparation for the university’s production of Cosi fan tutte.

Cowles also started a scholarship program at PSU that, according to Trout, has brought a number of high-level voice students to the university.

“She has been with us for a long time, she has been extremely loyal, she is the reason PSU opera has national recognition,” Trout said.

Cowles’ donations will be managed by the department to receive the best possible return, guaranteeing the opera’s funding well into the future, Trout said.

Once money is deposited into the account, it will start earning interest and dividends to grow right along with the fundraising, Trout said. The earnings will accumulate quickly enough, Trout said, that the $1.5 million will never be touched.

“That is literally forever–it assures the future of our production,” she said.