AlumniReview32014_0

The new Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts will allow Queen’s
students and faculty to realize innovative synergies across the arts.
By mereDITH DAulT, mA’11
SUZY LAMONT
tor, Jerry Doiron. “It is going to allow our students
to learn in state-of-the-art facilities and will make
Kingston a destination for international calibre
artists.” The 2014-2015 inaugural season, which
Mr. Doiron programmed, will feature performances
by American violinist Sarah Chang, French
pianist Cédric Tiberghien, and the Zukerman
Chamber Players, among others.
For many on campus, watching the Isabel come
to life on the Kingston waterfront has been a
dream come true. “I remember first arriving at
Queen’s in 1988 and hearing people talk about
how it was too bad we didn’t have a dedicated
recital hall,” says Gordon Smith, Vice-Dean,
Faculty of Arts and Science, and former director
of the School of Music. “Most music faculties have
such a facility as part of their infrastructure.”
Dr. Smith, who soon found himself on a recital
hall committee, remembers various discussions on
where such a facility might be housed on campus.
He says that while there were plans in the early
2000s to build a modest recital hall adjacent to
Harrison-LeCaine Hall, the home of the School of
Music, they were scrapped when it was decided an
additional building would have been out of place
in that location. “I remember feeling disappointed
at the time,” he recalls, “but I agree with them now.
Not long afterwards, however, the university’s
most generous benefactors, Alfred Bader (Sc’45,
Arts’46, MSc’47, lld’86) and his wife, Isabel
(lld’07) provided a lead gift for the project. In
2006, Principal Karen Hitchcock began negotiating
with city officials for Queen’s to purchase two
historic buildings – the Stella Buck building and a
former stable building – as the site for the anticipated
performing arts centre. The site also included
the J.K. Tett Centre, which, together with
the Stella Buck building, originally formed part
of the Morton Brewery and Distillery complex,
reputed to be the largest of its kind in North
America in the mid-19th century.
In 2009, Principal Tom Williams announced
Issue 3, 2014 | alumnireview.queensu.ca 17