Sinquefields donate $10 million to MU Music

Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, prominent Missouri activists and philanthropists, gave MU a $10 million dollar gift to help fund a proposed new music building. The building is part of a larger plan to renovate the school of fine arts.

This donation follows a $1 million dollar gift that the Sinquefields gave in 2009 to help create the Mizzou New Music Initiative. That donation was matched with another in 2013, worth $1.4 million. In total, the Sinquefields have donated more than $13 million to the University.

“We want Mizzou to become an international Mecca for music composition,” Jeanne Sinquefield said. “By giving the school of music its own facility,  we can not only take a large step in positioning MU as a leader in music composition, but also help to create opportunities for the School to become a leader in music performance and education as well.”

The Sinquefields live in Westphalia. Rex, a retired financial executive and active political reformer, serves on the board of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Jeanne played string bass in two mid-Missouri symphonies, and supports music education through the couple’s philanthropy, the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.

The MU arts school is in the initial stages of fundraising for the renovation and construction project, which is expected to cost $74 million. The school hopes to receive state funding and other personal gifts to fund the project. The proposed music school building would be located at the corner of Hitt Street and University Avenue on the MU campus.

“The Sinquefields have found a meaningful way to advance their passion for musical composition and performance,” MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said. “The university community thanks them for their generosity and for their leadership in supporting the arts at MU and in Missouri.”