The Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts opens with world class performances.

Ute Bowes and David Stull, Conservatory president

Virginia Foo and Timothy Foo, Conservatory board chairman

Yo-Yo Ma and guests at the top of the Bowes Center

BY CAROLYNE ZINKO | PHOTOS BY DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY

THE WILLIAM K. BOWES, JR. FOUNDATION’S $46 MILLION gift to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2018 was among the largest donations ever made to an American music school. Three years later, here’s the scoop: The money helped fund the new, $200 million Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, a 170,000-square-foot, 12-story building with student housing, dining, classrooms, rehearsal and performance spaces, and a radio station all in one. At the gala, leading arts patrons were dazzled by the edifice and performances by world class musicians, including famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

The new Ute and Wiliam K. Bowes, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts

Stanley and Helen Cheng