Construction of the William M. Lowman Concert Hall on the Idyllwild Arts Academy and Summer Programs campus will occur in the next year or two. The Idyllwild Arts Foundation successfully completed a $6.3-million campaign to fund the project by its Dec. 31 deadline.

A 298-seat, acoustically brilliant facility, the concert hall will become the centerpiece of IAF’s 200-acre, mountaintop campus and is named in honor of Idyllwild Arts’ first president. The hall will be home to instrumental and vocal performances by academy students and summer program participants.

“Dec. 31, 2013, is truly a great day in the history of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation. Achieving this goal has required great generosity, hard work and commitment,” said Faith Raiguel, IAF board chair, in a release. “We are pleased to celebrate the achievement of Bill Lowman and Idyllwild Arts’ mission, so substantially.”

According to Chief Development Officer Susan Bowers, the campaign’s success was a team effort. Board members as well as faculty and staff were huge contributors.

“We had extra support from the board; some gave twice,” Bowers said proudly. “And the employee participation was huge.

“They gave more than [for] any other project, which is an indicator of the morale on campus and our leadership,” she added.

The process to obtain a building permit from Riverside County has already begun, according to Bowers. Construction should take 12 to 18 months after ground is broken and the building is slated for completion in 24 to 30 months from now.

Bowman Hall, current home to concerts and theater performances, will continue to be the venue for theater and other performances, according to Bowers.

“Lowman will allow less-crowded schedules and performances [than currently] in Bowman,” she said. “… the schedule with theater and orchestra, for example, would be very tight. Set up for one [performance on] one day and another [performance] the next [day].”

Designed by Sander Architects and using acousticians from Arup (designers of the Sydney Opera House), the hall is meant to “breed success in the performing arts,” according to the press release.

Long-time IAF supporters and board members James Lovelace and Dwight Holmes chaired the campaign for the concert hall funding.