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The Pennsylvania Academy of Music will fling open the doors of its exquisite new building with a grand opening concert and gala on June 11. The last performing arts venue designed by famed architect Philip Johnson before his death in 2005, the Academy features acoustics by Dr. Cyril Harris, the acoustician for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This new facility –located midway between New York City and Washington, D.C.– is designed to be a magnet for connoisseurs of fine music from around the world.
British classical actress Claire Bloom will host the June 11 gala which will begin with a reception and concert. Leonard Bernstein's daughter, Jamie, will introduce her father's "Make My Garden Grow" from Candide as the Academy children's choir sings its way into the recital hall. The program includes performances by internationally renowned violinist Arnold Steinhardt and the original recording artists of George Gershwin's two-piano scores, Veri and Jamanis, who also are the Academy founders. The internationally acclaimed Newstead Trio will perform the world premiere of a new work by Chinese composer, Chen Yi, just weeks before she debuts another composition at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Rounding out the program will be a tribute to Pennsylvania composer Samuel Barber by the Academy's Philharmonia Orchestra and "Bachianas" for eight cellos and a voice by students, faculty, and alumni of the Academy.
Founded in 1989 and home of the international summer music festival, Vivace!, the Academy's new 63,000 square foot facility will accept up to 600 students, ages pre-school to adult, for the fall semester. One of only 12 autonomous pre-collegiate music schools in the U.S. accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, it provides a comprehensive musical education and technical performing tools through applied lessons, training in theory and musical literature, and opportunities for solo and ensemble performance.
The new facility's world-class designs and elements pay final homage to the same genius that designed the Seagram Building and AT&T Headquarters in New York, PPG in Pittsburgh, and the Crystal Cathedral in California. This legendary architectural talent is enhanced by the same acoustics designer responsible for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Bombay, India. The beneficiary of their ultimate teamwork is the Academy featuring a 364-seat recital hall with judge's row, teaching studios, classrooms for theory and composition, a chamber music suite, state-of-the-art recording studios with broadcast capabilities, a music library, public rooms for casual concerts and community functions, and a rooftop atrium.
While the granite and glass are a visually stunning architectural complement to the historic character of America's oldest inland city, it is the spirit of the Academy that makes it a multi-generational enclave for artists, educators, and students. Modeled after the conservatory approach in mid-sized European cities, the Academy draws on a rich musical heritage to create a cultural pulse that reverberates throughout the northeast corridor and, indeed, around the world.
When it shows the world its four floors of elegant teal carpet, spaghetti lights, and cherry wood harvested from Pennsylvania forests on June 11, the Pennsylvania Academy of Music ultimately intends to unleash the creative energy of some of the world's finest musicians and prodigies. As Veri and Jamanis put it, "The Academy will be a big voice from a small center."
