In last Thursday’s (5/6) San Jose Mercury News (California), Lisa M. Krieger writes, “At a time when arts organizations and universities are struggling to pay their bills, Stanford University is tuning up to break ground on the campus’ first true concert hall with world-class acoustics financed by $112 million in private gifts. The 844-seat Bing Concert Hall—a new home for Stanford Lively Arts’ live musical performances—will accommodate everything from soloists to full orchestras. It will become the cornerstone of an ambitious 21st-century ‘arts district’ at a school that is sometimes nicknamed ‘Stanford Tech,’ more famed for science and software than Sibelius. … Planned near the Cantor Arts Center, the concert hall and a future drama theater will reside at the ‘front door’ of campus, just off Palm Drive, with easy access for visitors. Groundbreaking is slated for Tuesday, and the project should be completed in summer 2012 with its first public performances in January 2013. … World-renowned acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, whose credits include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, said acoustics for the Stanford project were a challenge because the hall needs to accommodate small chamber concerts to symphony performances with full choruses of 150 singers.”
Posted May 12, 2010
