About the Arthur Zankel Music Center
Our namesake: Arthur Zankel
Arthur was deeply committed to sharing his good fortune with others. He also profoundly believed in the transformative power of the arts. The Arthur Zankel Music Center unites these two passions in a powerful way, allowing the College to share in the joy of world-class musical performance, teaching, and learning, not only for the College but for the entire upstate region.”Martin Zankel
A lifelong resident of the New York City area, Arthur Zankel was co-managing partner of High Rise Capital Management, which he founded in 2000. Prior to that he was with First Manhattan Co., an investment management firm, for 35 years, becoming co-managing partner and then senior partner. He is credited with playing a key role in the 1998 merger of Citibank and Travelers Group insurance company.
Zankel served on the board of directors of Citigroup, Travelers Property-Casualty, and other corporations, and was a trustee of the UJA Federation, the New York Foundation, Carnegie Hall, and Skidmore College. He and his wife, Judy, made a major donation to Carnegie Hall, which led to the construction of a new Carnegie concert space named in their honor.
Zankel’s connections to Skidmore were many. Two of his four sons graduated from Skidmore, Kenneth in 1982 and James in 1992, as did a nephew, Harun Zankel, Class of 2001, and a daughter-in-law, Pia Scala Zankel, Class of 1992. As a Skidmore trustee during 1989–99, he was known for his astute leadership of the board’s investment committee—particularly for his role in shepherding the College’s endowment—and for his incisive contributions to discussions, frequently enhanced by his sense of humor.
A generous Skidmore donor, he endowed a professorship in management and the liberal
arts and the related Zankel Lecture Series, which fosters discussion of business issues
from a societal and ethical perspective. Zankel also provided support for student
scholarships and for the College’s Office of Special Programs.
Our Building
With approximately 54,000 square feet of teaching, practice, performance, and administrative space (more than double the size of the Filene Music Building), Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center is a hub of musical activity on campus. Designed by the Philadelphia architectural firms of EwingCole and BelsonDesignArchitects and drawing upon the expertise of acousticians, theater designers, and landscape architects, the center reflects Skidmore’s commitment to the arts and to creative thinking.
Aligned along a north-south axis, the building is divided into two separate spheres of activity, with a wide, brightly lit glass atrium in the center, serving as a crossroads and a gathering space. To the south is the performance sphere, featuring the 600-seat Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, an acoustically tuned space that can be scaled up or down in size for smaller and larger audiences. Designed to accommodate both a full orchestra and chorus, its stage is backed by a dramatic three-story-high glass wall overlooking nearby Haupt Pond.
To the north is the instructional sphere, which includes faculty offices, 14 practice rooms, the 90-seat Elisabeth Luce Moore Hall for lectures and recitals, electronic music laboratory, piano lab, and several classrooms. This wing is used virtually around the clock to accommodate the practice schedule and creative needs of students during evening and night hours, and teaching needs during the day.
