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SYRACUSE HERALD-AMERICAN, Jan. li,'lW«Mpleases symphonyCivic Center provides advantages tor all4i' Next Friday and Satur-iay nights, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, con-Jucted by Christopher ^eenei Will move into a permanent new home at the ivic Center.I Until now, the orchestra ias rehearsed and performed in varidus school Auditoriums around the Area — Lincoln, Henninger, porcoran, West Genesee, Nottingham.! To me the Civic Center beans the beginning of a hew stage in the symphony's development,” says SSO President Kenneth D. Williams.; Fifteen years ago the newly organized orchestra gave its very first concert— at Lincoln Auditorium. Last month, back at Lin-boln once more, the orchestra concluded the vagabond stage of its existence with what was perhaps our greatest triumph thus far— a milestone performance of Handel’s Messiah.Now we are ready to come into our own as one ofthe country's major orchestras, performing in a real concert hall worthy ofthe excellence we haveachieved.”1,500 last season to over 5,000 in the current season. “No doubt a large shareof the credit for the tremendous jump in subscription sales goes to Christopher Keene,” acknowledges General Manager Sandor K^lai. But we do know that many of our subscribers were eager to ‘stake their claim' to a seatat the new concert hall:” The 14 boxes that flank the walls of the concert theater were gone a little mofe than a week after they went on sale, even though for- half- the season beholders had to contenttherhselves with six seats■ t •at Lincoln. Many of the boxes were taken by busiTo music director Keene, the Syracuse Symphony’s new home in the Civic Center means the community has demonstrated its pride in the orchestra by providing it a legitimate concert theater.Since a concert hall is only as good as it sounds, Keene has been in close consultation throughout the spring and summer with acoustic engineer Russell Johnson, one of the foremost authorities on concert hall acoustics in North America. On the basis of what he has heard so far, Keene is optimistic about how the orchestra will sound in the new hall.nesses that had never purchased block seating before.To. the symphony management, the Civic Center means the orchestra now has a physical identity. Everyone in the community will now know where to come to buy tickets and where to go to attend concerts.As a wide cross section of the population gets used to going to the Civic Center for entertainment, people who never tried a symphony concert may decide to give it a whirl and become coneert-goers.The Civic Center also means a lot to the musicians who will make thenew hall come alive withmusic in a few ways.To harpist Ursula Kwasnicka, it will mean adequate back stage areas for warming up while a concert is in progress. Formerly she had to move her harp into the ladies' room for this purpose.,To the bass fiddle section it will mean they ho longer serve the double function of blocking the audience's view of the senior play props stacked in the corner.And to all the members of the or cehestra it will mean a location Where careful consideration has been given to how the music they make can be heard to its best advantage.V V-.... . «-lt;* * . AW.w ' - - • • m • -4 iWilliams noted the concert-going public has shown its satisfaction with the change in concert location by an increase in season ticket-holders from under
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Herald American
Syracuse, New York, US
Sun, Jan 11, 1976
Page 46
Full Page
Clipped by
Onondaga C.
NY, USA 02 Apr 2023
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