In Thursday’s (5/16) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tom Daykin writes, “The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is considering a possible move to the Couture hotel and apartment high-rise which developer Rick Barrett hopes to build on downtown’s lakefront. ‘We have been approached about being part of the Couture,’ MSO spokeswoman Susan Loris told me Thursday afternoon. ‘We are honored to have an opportunity to be considered for a new home.’ Symphony officials are researching the feasibility of a possible move to the Couture from the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Loris said. No decision has been made, she said. County officials would likely not want to see MSO leave the Marcus Center, where the symphony accounts for 13% of that facility’s annual revenue. MSO officials have long wanted a stand-alone rehearsal and performance facility. The orchestra shares the Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall with the Milwaukee Ballet, Florentine Opera and other performing groups. It is forced to find other venues for some of its dates, including part of the lucrative Christmas holiday season, when the ballet’s annual production of ‘The Nutcracker’ holds many of those dates. Also, the acoustics at Uihlein Hall aren’t ideal for MSO because its stage is large enough to accommodate a variety of theater productions—which is much bigger than necessary for a symphony orchestra.”
Posted May 17, 2013
