“Why I Give” is a recurring series of articles about the people who support the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center.
Meet Bill Ross, a city planning consultant and principal of Ross Associates, who lives in Madison with his wife, Sharon Cutler Ross, an algebraist and professor emerita of mathematics at Georgia State University. This season they are sponsoring Dance Me: The Music of Leonard Cohen, an April 21 performance by Ballets Jazz Montréal at the Classic Center Theatre.
Growing up, my music consisted of 1950s rock-and-roll. My mother had her classical 78s and Sharon’s mother played her Eileen Farrell records or anything Wagner to motivate herself while cleaning the house.
We moved to Madison about 20 years ago, attracted in large part by the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center. The center began, under the direction of Christopher Rex (now unfortunately departed), an annual chamber music festival that took its title seriously and grew over time.
When we learned of UGA’s Performing Arts Center, we were Johnny on the spot! At first, we would laboriously select the performances we wished to attend. Finally, we were ordering tickets for so many performances that for the past several years, we have just bought the entire season and attended all that we could. For those we can’t, we find friends who can attend instead so our seats are never wasted.
Learn how you can support the University of Georgia Performing Arts Center here.
