Jack and Priscilla Schlegel hope their gift of $10 million toward Sarasota Orchestra’s new performing arts center will soon be eclipsed as the organization continues working toward raising the necessary $375-$425 million for the project.
“Over the past 25 years, we have witnessed Sarasota Orchestra transform into a fully professional orchestra that is rapidly becoming one of the best regional orchestras in the country,” said Jack and Priscilla Schlegel.
Jack and Priscilla Schlegel, who relocated from Washington, D.C. to Sarasota in 1998, have been active supporters of the local arts community for more than two decades.
The Schlegels met while they were students at the University of the Pacific, where he earned a bachelor of science in pharmacy. He later earned a doctorate in pharmacy and a master of science in education from the University of Southern California. He became a USC faculty member and chief pharmacist at the university before moving to Washington, D.C., to join the staff of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. He later became CEO of the American Pharmacists Association and the Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
About 30 years ago, he launched a consulting and training firm that works with association boards and volunteer leaders in strengthening their governance. Schlegel and Associates has now worked with more than 300 organizations, universities and associations. He also served on the board of the New College of Florida Foundation.
Priscilla Schlegel, who earned a humanities degree from University of California-Berkeley, spent more than three decades working for the RAND corporation, a non-profit think tank.
The Schlegels’ gift is one of the largest the orchestra has ever received and follows a $60 million gift from an anonymous donor for the music center that was announced in February.
Sarasota Orchestra is collaborating with an international team of architects, designers and engineers, including Stages Consultants (acoustics/theater planning), William Rawn Associates (architecture), HKS (architecture/engineering) and OJB Landscape Architecture, to transform the 32-acre site into what they call an iconic cultural destination.
The 250,000-square-foot project will include an 1,800-seat concert hall, a 700-seat recital hall and an education and administrative wing just west of Interstate 75.
The Schlegels have also helped fund the early planning the project, which led to the purchase of the land in 2023. They also provided money to the orchestra for support during the COVID pandemic.
