Arts Umbrella announces the new Robert M. Ledingham School of Theatre and Music
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 18:00:20 +0000
The Arts Umbrella announced the name of the new Granville Island facility at its annual Splash gala fundraising event. The Robert M. Ledingham School of Theatre and Music will open in late 2020.
Architect and heritage planner Robert Lemon made a $2-million contribution to the Arts Umbrella building campaign in the name of his late partner Robert (Bob) Ledingham.
The new facility will be led by Arts Umbrella artistic director Paul Moniz de Sá, who has worked as a professional actor, director and sound designer for over 20 years before coming to the organization. Under his guidance, the not-for-profit arts education centre has developed distance training programs and many other initiatives.
Arts Umbrella was started in 1979 by five parents with artistic backgrounds and the first class numbered 45 students. Today, the organization reaches over 20,000 children of all ages and backgrounds. Through free-of-charge outreach programs, even those not able to afford tuition are provided the opportunity to expand their creative side. Presently, tuition covers 44 per cent of the organization’s budget and the remainder comes from different funding types, including individual donations such as the one made by Lemon.
The Arts Umbrella presently has studios in Granville Island, Quebec at 7th, South Surrey and Surrey Centre.