The Fort Collins Symphony’s offices are moving to the Colorado Building on 141 South College Avenue on September 1, 2017. Fort Collins’ oldest arts organization will soon have a permanent home through the generosity of Dr. Ed Siegel, who owns the beautiful art deco building where his father, Julian Siegel, operated a successful women’s apparel business for decades and was often heard saying, “I love music!” Mayor Wade Troxell recently proclaimed December 20, 2016 as Julian Siegel Day.
Since 1949, Fort Collins Symphony business has been conducted from the kitchen tables of founder Maestro Will Schwartz, first executive director Clare Wilber, and from several small office spaces in Old Town Fort Collins. The opportunity to occupy the spacious suite in the historical landmark-designated building is a dream come true for the professional orchestra, now beginning its 68th Season.
Ed Siegel, son of successful and community-minded parents, Julian and Ida Siegel, was born and raised in Fort Collins. While enrolled in Colorado A & M’s Experimental Day Care Center, Ed discovered he could play the piano by ear and was soon performing for school assemblies, playing on KCOL’s Children’s Hour hosted by Jack Hitchcock, Fort Collins’ first radio announcer, and competing in talent shows at the America Theater on College Avenue (now the Galleria Building), and in the Annual Kiwanis Club’s “Stars of Tomorrow” contest at the Fort Collins High School. Siegel has been a longtime supporter of the Fort Collins Symphony and recently, through the Friends of the Symphony, honored his parents by endowing The Julian and Ida Siegel Assistant Concertmaster Chair.
Dr. Siegel has, for over 45 years, been a highly regarded psychiatrist and lecturer in the fields of social and behavioral sciences at the University of California-San Diego. Currently living in Solana Beach, California, Siegel has given piano performances at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., at the Museum of New York City, and on NBC’s Today Show with Katie Couric to name a few. He frequently returns to his hometown where he maintains his parents’ condo at Park Lane Towers, and takes in Symphony performances. Having the Fort Collins Symphony’s offices in his building fulfills a dream to be instrumental in helping keep the Symphony viable and accessible.
A reception celebrating the Symphony’s new home will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 30, 2017. A string trio from the Fort Collins Symphony will perform following brief remarks. Refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact Mary A. Kopco, Executive Director at 970.482.4823 or by visiting www.fcsymphony.org.
