The Festival of the Sound and the Town of Parry Sound officially announced the naming of the New Performance Hall at a press conference today, Tuesday, August 6, 2002 held at the Children’s Aid Society Board Room in Parry Sound, Ontario.

  At this Naming Ceremony the generous donor of $1.7 million was in attendance for the ceremonial signing and cheque presentation as well as the announcement of his name, Charles W. Stockey, and the announcement of the official names of the Performing Arts Centre and the Performance Hall.

  The new home for the Festival of the Sound will be called the Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts and the concert hall will be called the Charles W. Stockey Festival Performance Hall.  The building will also house the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame named for the hometown star of past Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks NHL teams.

  The Charles W. Stockey Centre for the Performing Arts will enjoy a  spectacular setting on the Parry Sound waterfront.  The construction management firm of Ellis Don, along with architect Keith Loffler and the acoustical firm Artec (responsible for the splendid George Weston Recital Hall, the Chan Centre in Vancouver, the Winspear Centre in Edmonton and currently redesigning Roy Thomson Hall) are the dynamic team working on this exciting new performance hall.  The official grand opening is scheduled for next July 2003.

  The Festival of the Sound and the town of Parry Sound are extremely grateful to Mr. Stockey for his overwhelming generosity and for his on-going support and love of music making at the Festival of the Sound.