SLU recital hall project given $1.75M

CANTON — Karen Kermani Peterson has donated $1.75 million to St. Lawrence University to modernize a recital hall.

Renovations already are under way at the former Gilbert Recital Hall, which is getting a $2 million makeover to upgrade the performance space. Following Mrs. Peterson's donation, SLU plans to rename the facility the Peterson-Kermani Performance Hall.

The college said the Horseheads resident wants to dedicate the recital hall in memory of her husband, Donald, who graduated from St. Lawrence in 1962 and died three years ago.

"It's really kind of interesting that Donald Peterson had such a keen interest in music and he wasn't a music student. He just appreciated it and loved it very much. This is a very nice way to remember the things that he was so passionate about," university spokeswoman Macreena A. Doyle said.

Mrs. Peterson met her husband when he was an undergraduate chemistry student at SLU. He shared a dormitory room with her brother, Peter Kermani.

"Don and Peter's friendship enriched our lives. And it all began when they were undergraduates at St. Lawrence University," Mrs. Peterson said in a statement. "I wanted to recognize Don's love of music, and Peter's role in his life, through this gift to St. Lawrence."

After Mr. Peterson's death in 2006, his wife donated his extensive music collection and audio equipment to the university. They are housed in the Griffiths Arts Center.

SLU hopes to complete renovations on the recital hall so it will be ready for use next fall. It is part of a multiphase project to update arts facilities on campus.

"The hall is going to be drastically reconfigured," Ms. Doyle said. "The way the current space was set up, you walked in and the stage was right there. It was never really used very much for the kinds of performances it was intended for."

The college will mount a plaque in honor of J. Richard Gilbert by the recital hall's entryway, to indicate that it used to bear his name. The longtime professor of music taught at St. Lawrence from 1947 until his death in 1970.

The recital hall renovations are part of a larger three-phase expansion of SLU's arts facilities. Mrs. Peterson's gift will count toward the college's Momentum St. Lawrence campaign, which aims to raise $200 million by Dec. 31, 2010.