Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

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The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts was built in 1969 in Urbana, Illinois on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an educational and performing arts complex. Herman Krannert, an industrialist (founder of Inland Container Corporation and alumnus of the University) and his wife Ellnora Krannert made a gift of $16 million which made creation of the Center possible. Max Abramovitz, the architect of the Krannert Center, was also an alumnus of the University of Illinois.

The total combined seating capacity of the venues at the Center is approximately 4000. The main lobby, with its teak floor from Thailand at a cost of $1 million and its marble-walls from Carrara, Italy, contribute to the quality of the building which also contains a gift shop, "The Promenade", and a cafe, The Intermezzo.

Contents 1 Performance facilities 2 Recent and Upcoming Performances 3 See also 4 External links and references

[edit] Performance facilities

• Foellinger Great Hall, with 2,078 seats, is the most famous and largest of the venues at the Krannert Center. Renowned for its acoustics, it attracts world famous artists and ensembles to perform every year. Some noteworthy orchestras like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra have used the hall for recordings. The School of Music at the University of Illinois hosts many performances at this venue by students, faculty, the Sinfonia de Camera and the University of Illinois Symphony.

Architecture of the Great Hall:

Dr. Cyril Harris, a noted acoustician and Emeritus Professor of Architecture at Columbia University designed the interior of the Foellinger Great Hall. His past projects include the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington and Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

The design of the hall is almost perfectly symmetrical. There are no parallel surfaces in the room, instead all the surfaces are angled to ensure that the sound reflects back to the audience. This accounts for much of the halls acoustic superiority. No amplification is necessary for instrumental music.

• Tryon Festival Theatre, with 974 seats on two levels, was primarily intended for operas and the acoustics are designed to favor vocal performances. The theatre also hosts performances of ballet, dances, musicals and plays. This theater is equipped with a Sennheiser Audio System, computerized lighting control, sound reinforcement and recording capability. It has become a tradition for the local Champaign-Urbana Ballet and the Sinfonia de Camera to perform The Nutcracker at the Festival theatre every December.

A unique feature of the theatre, designed to support the plays and musicals, is that a trap door may be placed almost anywhere on stage with removable 4'x 8' panels.

• Colwell Playhouse, with 674 seats, mainly hosts plays and dance performances and is used mainly by the Departments of Theatre and Dance and also by touring productions. Like the Festival theatre, it is equipped with a Sennheiser Audio System, a computerized lighting system, sound reinforcement and recording capability. The acoustics in this venue are designed to specifically support speech performances. The walls are shaped to reflect voices from the stage towards the audience while the back walls are echo-proof.

• Studio Theatre, a small theatre with 200 seats, has been described as a black box theatre as it supports many experimental performances. It was intended as an experimental workspace for students and performers and hence has a smaller, less intimidating seating capacity. Its audio and lighting capabilities are similar to the other venues with a computerized lighting system and sound reinforcement.

• Amphitheatre, this theater is located on the outside of Krannert Center and is a common spot for students to relax, study, and socialize during the warmer months. It is also the location of On The Rocks a set of student written, produced, and directed one-act plays put on by the Krannert Center Student Association in the spring.

[edit] Recent and Upcoming Performances

Artists
Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano - October 2005
Elliot Fisk, student of legendary Andres Segovia - October 2005
Joshua Bell, Grammy winning violinist - March 2004
Maya Beiser, cellist - October 2003 (World Premiere 'The world to come')

Ensembles
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra - December 2005
Munich Symphony Orchestra - October 2005
Moscow State Radio Symphony - Orchestra February 2004
Vienna Symphony Orchestra - November 2003
London Symphony Orchestra - May 2001
Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra - February 2001
Upcoming Performances
Russian National Ballet - Jan 2006
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Jan 2006
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - March 2006
Yo-Yo Ma - March 2006

[edit] See also

• List of major concert halls

[edit] External links and references

• Krannert Center of Performing arts
  
• Krannert Center Student Association
  
• Electronic Tour Reference