Grand Opening Of Antinori Center For Arts To Be Held At Jesuit High

TAMPA, FL — Jesuit High School will celebrate the grand opening of the new Antinori Center for the Arts at a ceremony on Thursday, March 30 at 6 p.m. on the school campus at 4701 N Himes Ave.

Immediately following the ceremony and a reception in the arts center at 7:30 p.m., the Jesuit Masque, the school’s theater club, will perform “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood." This will be the first of four shows over three days of the school’s annual spring performance.

The Antinori Center for the Arts is a 32,000-square-foot facility for Jesuit’s music, theater and fine arts programs.

The arts center is named in honor of Susan and Ron Antinori of the class of 1960 who, in 2019, made a $2 million gift toward Phase II of the school’s campus master plan. Ron Antinori is the founder and CEO of Antinori Software Inc. (later Carreker-Antinori Inc.). He also founded Rapido!, a classical music composition competition, and has served on the board of the Atlanta Opera and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

The arts center was designed by Alfonso Architects, and The Beck Group led the construction effort. Among its features are a 2,100-square foot-lobby that soon will be adorned with three large murals by acclaimed sacred artist Raul Berzosa of Malaga, Spain.

Students returning from spring break began taking classes this month inside the Antinori Center. Music students are rehearsing in the 4,300-square-foot Bailey Family Music Wing, named for the Bailey Family Foundation, which donated $1 million toward the arts center.

Fine arts students are using the Studio Art Room and the 3D Art Room.

The state-of-the-art facility also features a black box theater as well as a spacious scene shop for creating the sets for performances that take place in Shembekar Auditorium, named for the Shembekar family — Dr. Anita Shembekar and her sons, Jackson Shembekar, class of 2021, Preston Shembekar, class of 2022, and Colin Shembekar, class of 2025.

The 5,200-square-foot auditorium holds 439 patrons.

Jesuit’s campus master plan has been made possible by the school’s $50 million "For Greater Glory" campaign. Phase I of the master plan included the Chapel of the Holy Cross; Oliva Courtyard; a stately perimeter wall that gives the school a collegiate presence; and Gonzmart Hall, a 32,000-square-foot administration and student services building along Himes Avenue.

Jesuit High School of Tampa is a private, all-male Catholic high school rooted in the Jesuit tradition of education. Jesuit has been educating young men in the Tampa Bay area since 1899.