Recognizing the commitment and leadership of Judith and Thomas Beckmen, Ann and Stephen Hinchliffe, Joan and John Hotchkis, Merle and Peter Mullin and Lee and Lawrence Ramer

LOS ANGELES (March 1, 2007) -The Music Center is pleased to announce that it will dedicate the new Ahmanson Theatre Founders Room to five couples who together have committed $2.5 million to supporting capital and endowment projects at the Performing Arts Center. According to Music Center Chairman John Emerson, "Judith and Thomas Beckmen, Ann and Stephen Hinchliffe, Joan and John Hotchkis, Merle and Peter Mullin, and Lee and Lawrence Ramer are excellent examples of what loyal patrons of the performing arts should be." He continued, "Each couple not only dedicates countless hours as volunteers for the Music Center and its Resident Companies, they also support our artistic endeavors as subscribers to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Center Theatre Group, LA Opera, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. They are patrons of the Center's dance and educational programs and have provided leadership to the Music Center Foundation." Emerson continued, "Their leadership is unwavering as is their understanding of how crucially important gifts of unrestricted dollars for capital and endowment purposes are to this complex. It is in recognition of this understanding and their committed leadership that we are dedicating the new Ahmanson Founders Room in their honor."

The Ahmanson Founders Room opened in November 2006, thanks to the dedicated commitment of members of the Founders (donors who have made cumulative gifts of $100,000 or more to the Center). It is a welcome addition to the Music Center Campus since it has quadrupled the room's functional space. Today the new 2,200 square-foot space will accommodate 100 at a reception and 50 for sit down dinners. Pre-theatre dinners for Founders are now served in the warm and inviting room, as they are at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

According to Music Center President Stephen D. Rountree, "It is important to note that these rooms also provide another important function during non-performance times, since the Founders Rooms at the three theatres are available as sites for business meetings, receptions or special occasions, like holiday parties." Rob Carson of the Patina Group is available to aid with planning such events in any of these three handsome rooms, telephone (213) 975-7565.

In addition to the new Founders Room, a new intermission bar for Ahmanson Theatre patrons is now open on the theatre's ground level. These beautiful new spaces were designed by Hagy Belzberg, the architect for Patina Restaurant at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Concert Hall Café. "Belzberg's clever design resonates with sensibility and the dramatic woodwork that is his signature at Patina is repeated in a fresh and dynamic way in the Founders Room," said Rountree. For information on becoming a member of the Founders, please call (213) 972-3333.