Overture Center celebrates the life of former CEO and President Sandra Gajic
Azena Photography
A Celebration of Life for Sandra Gajic, the CEO and president of the Overture Center for the Arts who passed away on December 6 after a seven-month battle with cancer, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. in the Overture Hall Lobby with light desserts and coffee/tea in Promenade Terrace afterward. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. with the celebration free and open to the public.
Betty Harris Custer, chairman of Overture Center Foundation’s board of directors, will present welcoming remarks, followed by a reading of Gajic’s poetry and a musical performance by Iva Ugrcic, a close friend and colleague of Gajic and founder of the LunART Festival. Additional remarks will be contributed by Overture executive team members and close friends.
Gajic was the first woman to run Overture Center. She had relentless energy, passion for her work and a strong business acumen, leading Overture Center during one its most successful seasons ever. A seasoned executive in the arts with more than 28 years of experience to her credit, Gajic began her Overture tenure on August 13, 2018. During her time with the organization, she made a tremendous impact, spearheading an increase in Broadway subscribers, helping introduce and implement new board policies, expanding the work of the equity and innovation department and broadening multicultural programming. In addition, she was instrumental in initiating a comprehensive study of Overture’s operations and assets to ensure the facility and organization is forever part of Madison.
Overture Center is honoring Gajic’s memory through the Sandra Gajic Capital Fund. The fund supports capital and improvement projects for the Overture Center building. Gajic had big dreams for Overture Center for the Arts. She believed in the transformational role the arts play in Madison’s culture, economy, education and quality of life. She believed the arts help promote inclusion and diversity. And she believed the Overture Center is an incredibly important community asset.
