DALLAS  (November 18, 2008) – The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts announced today that it has received a $1 million contribution from Joanna and Peter Townsend, longtime opera patrons and supporters of the arts in Dallas.

Mr. and Mrs. Townsend have structured their gift to allow for half of their donation be used to offset rental expenses for The Dallas Opera when its moves its performances to the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts in October of next year. The remainder of their contribution will fund the capital campaign to complete construction of the Center.

The Dallas Opera is one of the five resident companies that will perform in the Center’s venues, which include the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Artist Square, City Performance Hall and the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, as well as the Winspear Opera House. In addition to the resident company performances, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will also feature TITAS, the Brinker International Forum, the Lexus Broadway at the Center series, concerts, festivals and more. More than 600 performances will take place each year at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.

“This gift from Joanna and Peter Townsend is not only incredibly generous, it is also forward-thinking,” said Bill Lively, president and CEO of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. “This gift will help to ensure the success of the capital campaign to build the Center and to create financial stability for one of the Center’s resident companies—The Dallas Opera—during its first several seasons in the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House.”

The campaign to build the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts has currently raised more than $334 million. More than 95 percent of the funding for the Center is being raised privately. In light of the unprecedented successes of the campaign, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts will continue to raise funds beyond the $338 million project cost, pursuing certain elements of the Center previously held in reserve as part of cautious planning in the early stages of the project.

At the same time, the Center will raise funds to cover costs tied to programming and operations in the Center’s first few years of operations.  The Center has already raised a substantial amount to support the Center after the 2009 opening, including gifts for endowment and, like the new $1 million gift from Mr. and Mrs. Townsend, gifts that are applied to specific operational needs and to support the resident companies.

Peter Townsend said that in their travels worldwide, he and his wife have never been in performance facilities more impressive than the venues that will comprise the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.

“My wife and I have lived in New York and London,” Mr. Townsend said. “We have been to great performance centers, but none greater than this one will be. The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is going to transform this city and region. “

Mr. and Mrs. Townsend have long been supporters of opera in Dallas and elsewhere. Mr. Townsend has served as Vice-President, Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Dallas Opera. He also has been Director, Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee of the Santa Fe Opera and a Director of the Dallas Symphony. In addition, he is a Director of the Autistic Treatment Center.

Mrs. Townsend is equally involved in the arts and served as a docent for 12 years at the Dallas Museum of Art. In addition, she is a member of the National Council of the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe.

Mr. Townsend and his wife moved to Dallas in 1990 with the relocation of the national headquarters of the Exxon Mobil Corporation. He retired as Exxon Mobil Corporate Vice President for Investor Relations and Secretary of the Board in 2002.

“We attended a concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center shortly after we arrived,” Mr. Townsend recalled. “It had been open about a year. I walked in and saw how fabulous it was. I have now had an opportunity to visit the Winspear Opera House and it is going to be just as fabulous for opera and ballet as the Meyerson is for symphony.”

Designed by Foster + Partners under Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster, the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House will be engineered specifically for performances of opera and musical theatre with its stages equipped for performances of ballet and other forms of dance.

In addition to their support of the arts, Mr. and Mrs. Townsend contributed $1 million to Southwestern Medical Foundation to establish the Peter and Joanna Townsend Family Distinguished Chair in Research on Autism Spectrum Disease.

Mr. Townsend said that great arts facilities and great medical centers are major attractions for businesses looking for cities where they can relocate. “Just look at all we have here and how much more there will be when the performing arts center opens,” he said.

About the AT&T Performing Arts Center:

The AT&T Performing Arts Center, a new multi-venue Center for music, opera, theatre and dance will open in October 2009, completing the 25-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. The Center will provide multi-state-of-the-art facilities woven together by an urban park covering more than ten acres to create a dynamic cultural destination that will be unparalleled in the world. The Center will feature the following:

• The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed in a modern horseshoe configuration, will seat 2,200 (with capacity up to 2,300), designed by Foster + Partners.
• The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre will serve as a gateway to the Dallas Arts District from the downtown Dallas business center and will seat 600, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas.
• The completely new Annette Strauss Artist Square will be the Center’s outdoor entertainment venue, designed by Foster + Partners.
• The City Performance Hall will provide main stage production space for many of Dallas’ smaller performing arts organizations, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
• The Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park will unify the venues within a lush urban oasis and will create a dynamic cultural destination in downtown Dallas, designed by Michel Desvigne.
• Two underground parking areas that will accommodate more than 850 vehicles.

The Dallas Fort Worth Lexus Dealer Association is the title sponsor of the Center’s Lexus Broadway Series, the official vehicle of the Center and its resident companies, the official valet sponsor and the naming rights holder for the Center’s two underground parking areas. More information on the AT&T Performing Arts Center is available at www.attpac.org.

Contact:

Maria May
AT&T Performing Arts Center
214.978.2834
maria.may@attpac.org