Chandler Center For Arts Mainstage Renamed To Honor Steena Murray

Chandler Center for the Arts, the City of Chandler and the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) have announced they have renamed the Arts Center's main theatre for long-time supporter Steena Murray. The Steena Murray Mainstage is Chandler Center for the Arts' 1508-seat theater used for major artist performances, local and national tours in Chandler, and serves as the performing, rehearsal and assembly space for the CUSD.

Murray is a founding member of both the Chandler Education Foundation Board and the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board of Directors (CCF) for which she has served since the Arts Center opened in 1989. She has worked diligently for more than 30 years to make Chandler Center for the Arts the community gathering space it has become.

Last year, Chandler Cultural Foundation, the not-for-profit that oversees programming and operations at the CCA, submitted a request for the naming of the mainstage to both Chandler Unified School District and the City of Chandler in appreciation and recognition of Murray's lifetime of support to the community. The CUSD Governing Board and Chandler City Council unanimously passed resolutions approving the name in March 2022.

The unveiling of the new Steena Murray Mainstage was held at a ceremony and reception on January 30, 2023. Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and City Council members, staff and board members of the CCA, Chandler Cultural Foundation and Chandler Unified School District were in attendance, as well as Murray's longtime friends and family.

"A founding member on the Chandler Education Foundation Board Steena has a passion for young people having access to education," says CUSD Superintendent Frank Narducci. "Having her name associated with a theatre that serves students and Chandler citizens is a fitting honor for someone with such incredible commitment to her community."

"I feel fortunate to have served on the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board with Steena," says David Woodruff, Chair of the CCF Board. "Her generosity in both time and money has been extraordinary. Steena has a passion for the arts. Our community has benefited greatly from her passion."

Murray's considerable financial contributions to the CCF make up the largest continuous gift from an individual philanthropist in its history. She has sponsored student participation in youth arts education through Vision Kids and Connecting Kids programs since their inception. In the last decade her support has provided funding for 12,870 youth to participate in these programs.

For 11 years, she was the presenting sponsor for the Zoppé Family Circus, bringing joy to tens of thousands of families, in addition to 6,000 free tickets to Title I students served by Chandler Unified School District. Murray is also a member of the Jerry Brooks Legacy Society, having committed a gift to the Cultural Foundation in her estate planning.

"I can't think of an individual who has provided more contributions to the enrichment of the community through the appreciation and support of the arts." says Michelle Mac Lennan, General Manager of the CCA. "Steena is more than a donor, she is a fan," continues Mac Lennan. "She has attended nearly every performance at the CCA. There is truly no one - not even staff - who has seen more shows in our theatre than Steena."

Murray is a native of Chandler. Her parents, Frands and Bodil Thude, immigrated from Denmark to be closer to family. In 1935, they purchased 160 acres east of Price Road and south of Galveston for a dairy and were among the original farming families in Chandler. Ellen Kristie "Steena" Thude Murray was born shortly after on December 6, 1936.

After graduating from Chandler High School in 1954, she attended the University of Arizona, graduating in 1959 with a major in business. She lived on the East Coast for a few years and moved back to Chandler in 1962, living in her hometown ever since. The Thude family and their contribution to early Chandler has been commemorated with a city park, located where the farm used to sit.

Murray is also a member of the P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Sisterhood's Arizona Chapter, a philanthropic organization where women celebrate the advancement of women.

"While Steena's reach within the community goes beyond her commitment to the arts," says Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke. "it is the generosity and vision of such a dedicated citizen that ensures the richness created and experienced within the walls of the CCA remains for generations."