September 14, 2009
Spotlight shines on theater transformation
Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre reopens with gala in October
Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre will open in the newly renovated theater with a new sound and ambience next month.
The opening weekend of the performance hall October 8 to 11 marks a major milestone in the $46.9 million renovation and expansion project at Eastman Theatre.
The refurbished venue will have 2,326 seats (down from approximately 3,100): 1,680 new seats, 501 restored seats, and 12 new boxes with 98 seats. The renovations will make possible improved acoustics and an expanded lobby area with lounges.
At the same time, construction continues on the addition to the Eastman School and Eastman Theatre. The new building will be connected to the theater and will include a 230-seat recital space to be named Hatch Recital Hall, a large entrance atrium, a rehearsal hall big enough to accommodate Eastman ensembles and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, teaching studios for faculty, and a recording control room.
Opened in 1922, Eastman Theatre was built by Eastman Kodak founder George Eastman as a center for music, dance, and silent film with live orchestral accompaniment—“for the enrichment of community life,” as inscribed on the façade. Its rich history includes performances by musical greats such as Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Beverly Sills, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, and Renée Fleming, a Rochester native and Eastman School graduate.
In 2004, the first phase of a major renovation project to the Eastman Theatre was completed to replace the stage and improve acoustics for concerts, opera, and other performances. In 2007, plans were announced for the current renovations to the theater.
The first Eastman School concert in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre is on Friday, Oct. 9, and it features the Eastman Philharmonia under Neil Varon, performing Beethoven’s Consecration of the House Overture and Symphony No. 5 by Shostakovich
See the theater’s transformation and read more about the project at www.esm.rochester.edu.
| Next story |
