Strathmore (Maryland)

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Strathmore Hall

Strathmore Mansion

Strathmore is a cultural and artistic venue and institution in North Bethesda, Maryland. Strathmore was founded in 1981 and consists of two venues: the Mansion and the Music Center.

The Strathmore arts complex is connected to the Grosvenor-Strathmore Washington Metro station via an elevated pedestrian walkway, the Carlton R. Sickles Memorial Sky Bridge, named after late Congressman Carlton R. Sickles. The complex is thus accessible for patrons coming from Washington, D.C., as well as the northern part of Montgomery County, Maryland via the Metro rail system.

1 Leadership and innovation
2 Performance and other facilities
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Leadership and innovation

Under the visionary leadership of President & CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl, Strathmore has welcomed more than 5,000 artists and 2 million guests at its signature exhibitions, concerts, teas, educational events and outdoor festivals since 1983. Highlights include hosting the first National Kaleidoscope Exhibition; developing a summer free outdoor concert series; world premiere of the Rhodes-Nadler Art Collection in the Strathmore art galleries; creating and launching the Washington Area Music Timeline Concert Series, 64 concerts celebrating local D.C. musicians; the opening of the world-class 1,976-seat Music Center at Strathmore in February 2005, described as “…the best place to hear an orchestra the Washington area has ever known” ^[1]; and producing the world premiere concert of "cELLAbration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins".

Strathmore commissions new works of art and music, including world premieres of the musical compositions Emergence: A Cicada Serenade by David Kane, Strathmore Sonata by Garrison Hull; works by young Artist in Residence musicians and the commissioning of the sculpture Little Temple by Stefan Saal.

[edit] Performance and other facilities

The Mansion at Strathmore is situated on eleven acres which surround the colonial revival mansion built in 1899 for the Oyster family, and sold to Charles Corby in 1908.^[2] The Mansion houses small concerts, art exhibitions, the Strathmore Tea Room, and the Shop at Strathmore. This is the original Strathmore venue and it remained so for almost 25 years.

The Mansion features a 100-seat acoustically superb Dorothy M. and Maurice C. Shapiro Music room. This room hosts the Music in the Mansion series, highlighting performances of chamber music, vocal and instrumental recitals, jazz and folk music. Music lovers will be delighted by Strathmore’s 1850 Broadwood piano, restored in 1994. Each summer the music spills out onto the green with free outdoor concerts. The summer also brings in the Backyard Theater for Children every Thursday morning.

The art of Strathmore brings in thousands of visitors each year. With more than two dozen exhibitions each season from local artists and from collaborations with renowned museums, such as the Baltimore Museum. The Gudelsky Gallery Suite, located at the top of the grand staircase, was named after philanthropists, Homer and Martha Gudelsky. Supported by a generous donation from the Gudelsky Family Foundation, this gallery features four rooms with state-of-the-art, humidity-and light-controlled galleries. It is the only venue of its kind in Montgomery County. When you exit through the back of Strathmore, you will encounter an extensive and varied Sculpture Garden that winds through the 11 acres of Strathmore.

With its columned porticos, Palladian windows, graceful proportions and pristine hilltop setting, this beautiful Neo-Georgian mansion is an elegant reflection of the past. Opulent and imposing, created for country life in a gilded age, Strathmore was designed by Appleton P. Clark, Jr., and constructed in 1902 as a summer home for Captain and Mrs. James Oyster and their family. Beginning in 1908, the Oysters sold the residence and its 99 acres to Charles I. Corby and his wife, Hattie. It was used as a summer home until 1914 when it was remodeled by architect Charles Keene. After the modifications, the residence became the permanent abode for the Corby family. Mr. Corby died in 1926 after acquiring nearly 400 acres of surrounding land and maintaining a fully operational dairy farm and a private golf course. With the death of Mrs. Corby in 1941, the home was purchased by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1943 and became known as St. Angela Hall, serving as a convent and school for many years. Rumors persist that from 1941-1944, the mansion served as a residence and a temporary governmental headquarters for Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Commonwealth of the Phillippines. However, there is no firm evidence to support this theory. In 1977, the Sisters of the Holy Cross sold the mansion to the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) as a temporary headquarters. In 1979, Montgomery County purchased the property from ASHA for use as an Arts Center. On June 21, 1983, after major restoration of the facility, Strathmore opened its doors to the public. Today, Strathmore attracts visitors from Montgomery County and the Washington metropolitan area, as well as the wider region, to its varied exhibitions of art, its musical performances, and the still-lovely location on Captain Oyster’s Hill.

The Music Center at Strathmore, which seats 1,976, is a concert hall and education center which opened in February 2005. It was funded by a combination of State of Maryland, Montgomery County and private corporate and local resources to provide a modern concert venue for a wide variety of musical events.

It was desinged by architects William Rawn Associates Architects, Inc. and the acousticians were Kirkegaard Associates along with Theatre Project Consultants as designers of the hall. This was the group which designed Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in 1994.

It is the presently the second home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra which performs on a regular basis in addition to its Baltimore concerts. It is also home of the Montgomery County-based National Philharmonic which performs regular concerts, while performances are also presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society, the Levine School of Music, CityDance Ensemble, and the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra.