Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield have given a $10 million gift to the University of Missouri to help fund the proposed new School of Music building. The gift, the largest ever in support of the arts at MU, was announced in a news conference on Friday April 10 at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the Mizzou campus.

Through the generous gift, the Sinquefields will help begin the fundraising efforts for the new School of Music building, which will be located at the northeast corner of Hitt Street and University Avenue on the MU campus. The new School of Music building (pictured, in an artist’s conception) is a part of a larger project that will include the renovation of the Fine Arts Building in order also to improve facilities for the MU theater and art departments.

Overall project highlights include a new recital hall for the School of Music, renovations to the Rhynsburger Theatre, and an expansion of the Bingham Gallery. Julia Gaines, the director of the MU School of Music, says this gift and the fine arts renovation project will not only raise MU’s stature in music composition, but also across the board in fine arts.

“The idea of having the entire School of Music in one building is a dream come true–a dream that has been talked about for decades,” Gaines said. “I can’t even begin to express how exciting this is for the MU music faculty, staff, and students. We’ve had a glass ceiling over us for many years because of our facility limitations. This gift will allow us to grow in so many ways, and we are more than ready for the opportunity.”

The Sinquefields’ support for composition began a decade ago with the Creating Original Music Project, a statewide competition for Missouri students in grades K-12, and an affiliated high school summer camp. In 2009, they gave MU $1 million to create the Mizzou New Music Initiative, an array of programs including the Sinquefield Composition Prize, MU’s highest honor for a student composer.

You can read the full text of the University’s announcement here, and see Jeanne Sinquefield talking about the $10 million gift and her interest in composition in the video below.