WILMINGTON — Salesianum School will transform its arts education after receiving a $20 million donation from the estate of James V. Tigani Jr., a member of the Class of 1954. The money will be used “as the cornerstone” of a renovation and construction project that will reimagine the Spragg Auditorium and to add classroom, studio and performance spaces.
The donation was announced Sept. 26 during a ceremony at the school. It is the largest donation in the history of Salesianum and one of the biggest to a Catholic high school in the United States, according to Salesianum.
For the nearly 1,000 boys and their teachers, along with staff members and others, the assembly in the gymnasium was a routine Friday experience. Students introduced eighth-grade boys who were shadowing, wished a happy birthday to teachers and fellow students, and talked about that night’s football game. Senior Jack Cunningham then approached the podium to talk about “Jimmy” Tigani before handing off the microphone to Aaron Bogad, Salesianum’s director of the arts.
Bogad recalled meeting Tigani in Florida in 2019 and discussing the arts program at the school. Tigani told Bogad how much he liked going to shows at the school when he was in Delaware, but for various reasons, he never made it back to his home state before his death in 2022.
Tigani practiced law for a short time in Chicago before being called home to work in the growing family business, N.K. S. Distributors Inc., a local distributor of beer, wine and spirits. He led the company until 1999, according to his obituary.
Officials from the Tigani Muse Foundation came to meet with school representatives last year to discuss what kind of work needed to be done.
“They knew that Jimmy would want to give a gift to the theater kids, to the musicians, to the artists, to the creators,” Bogad said. “But also to the regular kids, learning to be who they are and searching for the way to be that well.”
When Bogad revealed the $20 million number, gasps were audible in the gymnasium, and the students broke into applause.
The renovation and construction “will ensure that every student has access to a vibrant arts education encompassing music, visual arts, design, digital media, and performance,” the school said in a press release. The James V. Tigani Jr. Theater will serve as the centerpiece and artistic home for Salesianum students.
It will also allow for an expansion of ongoing relationships with area arts organizations, the school said. The school already works on shared initiatives with Opera Delaware, Delaware Shakespeare and other organizations.
Watch video from the ceremony.
“We are grateful to the Tigani Muse Foundation for this extraordinary investment in our students and our mission,” said Thomas A. Kardish, Salesianum’s president, in a statement. “For generations, the arts — especially the performing arts — have been a vital part of the Salesianum experience, shaping the creativity, confidence and the very voices of our young men. With yet another historic gift, we can build upon that rich tradition, creating new spaces where not only the arts will flourish, but also our call to be who we are, and be that well.”
Lori Porter, director of the Tigani Muse Foundation, said that Tigani believed deeply in the power of education and that Salesianum played a defining role in his own journey.
“This gift reflects his conviction that the arts inspire creativity, discipline and joy, and it will create opportunities for future students — and the community at large — to explore and express gifts in meaningful ways at Salesianum,” Porter said in a statement.
In an interview, Porter said Tigani had stipulated in his will that Salesianum would be one of his beneficiaries.
“Jimmy was big on the arts,” she said. “He loved culture and arts and the theater and music and jazz. That was his passion. We got to talking to them and we thought, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s make this theater come to life.’”
Kardish said in an interview after the announcement that the foundation had given Salesianum some money to conduct a study of what needed to be done to transform the wing that houses the theater, “the middle spine of the school. As you can imagine, the money to do that — it’s 20 percent of our footprint — is enormous.”
The theater itself has not changed in decades, he added, and it is not air-conditioned. Construction is expected to begin in approximately two years.
This donation will serve as the foundation of a larger James V. Tigani Jr. Arts & Innovation Center. It will include a $35 million renovation and expansion. Along with the theater, the complex will house a black box performance space, modern music and art studios, digital production suites, rehearsal rooms, and dedicated classrooms for design and innovation.
“It’s going to tie together the theater, music and media arts. All of that is going to be in the central hub, right in the middle of the school,” Kardish said.
Cunningham, who attends both St. Patrick’s Church and St. Anthony of Padua Church, said it means a lot to him to see that Salesianum values the arts as much as it values any other aspect of the school.
“It’s important to note that everybody here is required to take an art class, so everybody will be positively affected by it,” he said.
Since 2014, Salesianum has received nearly $70 million in donations that have affected every aspect of the school’s mission. In 2014, the late Anthony N. Fusco Sr. donated $10 million for Salesianum’s endowment. Four years later, the Rocco A. and Mary Abessinio Foundation gave $16 million toward the construction of Abessinio Stadium and for the endowment.
Jacklyn and Miguel “Mike” Bezos, a member of the Class of 1963, donated $12 million in 2021 to fully endow 24 scholarships and offer matching funds for additional endowment support. Then, two years ago, Fusco granted another $10 million to create the Fusco Fields athletic complex.
