Callanwolde pushes to raise $2.1 million to renovate historic buildings

When Charles Howard Candler built Callanwolde Estate in 1920, music and horticulture were chief among his family’s interests. Nearly a century later, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center is home to one of the largest Aeolian pipe organs in the country with more than 3,700 pipes in the attic. “The entire Mansion was literally built around the organ, and the Candler family brought the New York Metropolitan Opera and other notable musicians to Atlanta to perform including the famous opera singer Enrico Caruso,” says Callanwolde’s Executive Director Peggy Johnson.
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? A recent fundraising campaign to raise $2.1 million to renovate three historic buildings on the estate’s grounds — the Barn (restorations were completed in late August), the Gardener’s Cottage, and the Greenhouse — upholds Candler’s original vision for the house.
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? The public fundraising phase of the campaign kicked off with the Sept. 11 “Salute to America and the Arts Concert” and remains ongoing. Once complete, the refurbished Barn and Gardener’s Cottage facilities will house the Rick Baker School of Music and Recording. The Greenhouse will host Callanwolde’s School of Horticulture and Culinary Arts.
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? Funds are being raised through a combination of foundation grants and individual and online donations. A crowd-funding project is set to roll out in mid-November as well. Thus far, Callanwolde has raised $1.5 million.
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? In addition to donating all of the recording equipment for the program, Callanwolde’s Director of Music Recording and three-time Grammy winning mixing engineer Phil Tan (Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Ne-Yo, Ludacris, Usher, Janelle Monáe) has created a three-month Music Recording Certificate Program consisting of 24 courses. Students who complete the program are prepared to apply to music recording, mixing, and engineering institutions and colleges around the country. Callanwolde is already working in conjunction with recording programs at Full Sail University, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, and Atlanta Institute of Music. “Atlanta is one of the top 10 music recording cities in the nation, and yet there are hardly any recording programs suitable for both high school teens and adults, and hardly any programs that cost students less than $300 per month,” Johnson says. “Callanwolde now offers a high-quality, low-cost music recording certificate program that prepares Atlanta area students to pursue higher education and careers in the field of music recording and mixing.”
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? ??? More than 50 students have already enrolled in the program, eight of whom have received Tan’s Certificate of Recording. “Callanwolde will be able to make a difference for at-risk youth who aspire to work in the music industry,” Johnson says. “The students Callanwolde serves through the Music and Recording Program will likely do better in school and on standardized tests; be less likely to engage in risky behavior; and be more inclined to take advantage of positive opportunities available to them.”
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? Construction on the Gardener’s Cottage is set to begin in January 2016. Renovations on all three buildings are expected to be complete by the end of 2017. In the meantime, donations are being accepted online.