SFCM mourns the loss of Carol F. Buck
Buck’s generosity made possible the Carol Franc Buck Residential Tower at SFCM’s Bowes Center and the Conservatory’s Named Faculty Chair in Opera.
Carol F. Buck, native San Franciscan and long-time supporter of music and education, died April 9, 2022. She was 85.
Among her many contributions to arts organizations and beyond, Buck helped SFCM realize its new Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, a 170,000-square-foot, mixed-use home for music in San Francisco’s Civic Center that was inaugurated in fall 2021. She also funded the Carol Franc Buck Endowed Faculty Chair to recruit and retain top instructors and students for SFCM’s Opera and Musical Theatre program.
As trustee of her eponymous Carol Franc Buck Foundation, Buck provided support for the visual and performing arts, especially music, and for education in the arts. She was a donor to multiple San Francisco non-profits and to SFCM partners such as the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony and vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Chanticleer operates a formal education program for students in grades K-12 (and they are managed by Opus 3 Artists, the management company acquired by SFCM in 2020).
According to her children, Buck’s mother instilled in her a love of music by bringing Carol at a young age to performances of the San Francisco Opera. “Carol developed a deep passion for the arts and art education, believing that art education is an effective way to engage students in learning,” they wrote.
“What a champion she was for SFCM and for so many more,” said SFCM Dean Jonas Wright.
The Carol Franc Buck Collection, consisting of more than 1,000 contemporary landscape photographs, is housed at the Nevada Museum of Art. The University of California San Francisco’s Breast Care Center is also named for her.
“Carol was the best,” said Stull.