The Rose and Jules R. Setnor Auditorium is a 700-seat concert hall housed within Crouse College, the third oldest building on the Syracuse University campus and a National Historic Landmark since 1974. Beneath the auditorium’s 70-foot beamed ceiling, sunlight streams through stained glass windows onto wooden chairs reminiscent of the originals, while the 3,823-pipe Holtkamp Organ rises behind the stage. More than 200 performances take place here each year, including student recitals, faculty concerts, guest artists, ensembles and community presentations; the vast majority of them are free and open to the public.
Generations of musicians have called this room home. Alumni return to Crouse College to find that the auditorium they remember is largely unchanged—the same warm acoustic, the same stained glass, the same sense that something important happens here.
A Tradition of Giving Back
In 1998, Rose and Jules Setnor made a transformative gift to renovate the auditorium. Their generosity preserved the space’s historic character while ensuring it could continue to serve Syracuse University musicians. The wooden chairs installed during that renovation—the same chairs in use today—were designed to evoke the auditorium’s original seating.
Now you can be part of that tradition.
Reserve a Chair, Honor a Legacy
For a minimum gift of $500, a chair in Setnor Auditorium can be named on behalf of you or your family, or in honor or memory of a family member, friend, mentor or fellow musician. A nameplate bearing the name of your choice will be placed on the arm of the chair.
Every gift supports the Setnor Auditorium Gift Account, which funds the ongoing restoration and care of this historic space—including the auditorium’s chairs, the Holtkamp Organ and the building features that make Setnor one of the most distinctive concert halls in American higher education. Your contribution helps ensure that the room sounds, looks and feels the way generations of Syracuse musicians remember it—for the students performing here today and for those who will follow.
A few ways alumni and friends may choose to name a chair:
- In your own name or your family’s name
- In honor of a teacher, mentor or fellow alumnus
- In memory of a loved one whose life was shaped by music
- To mark a milestone—a graduation, an anniversary, a reunion year
- As a gift to a Setnor student, parent or friend
How it Works
- Make your gift of $500 or more using the button below.
- A member of VPA’s Office of Advancement will follow up with you directly to confirm your nameplate text and the location of your chair.
- Your nameplate will be placed on the arm of a chair in Setnor Auditorium.
Questions
If you have questions before making your gift—or if you would like to discuss naming multiple chairs or other ways to support Setnor Auditorium—please contact VPA’s Office of Advancement at vpaalum@syr.edu or 315.443.7095. We are glad to walk you through the process.
Other Ways to Support Setnor Auditorium
Naming a chair is one of several ways to invest in the future of music at Syracuse. The Office of Advancement is happy to discuss endowed funds, planned gifts, capital projects and program support tailored to your interests. We welcome the conversation.