Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

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The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is located at the corner of Stadium Drive and University Boulevard on the campus of the University of Maryland. The seven-year-old facility works to transcend the standard model of performing arts presentation by inextricably linking performances with learning opportunities, onstage and off. Many of the Center’s visiting artists are chosen not only for their ability to connect with audiences from the stage, but for their willingness and ability to interact with students, faculty and community members offstage. In the 2007-08 season, the Center sponsored extended residencies by Kronos Quartet, Marilyn Horne and Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR); these artists offered activities that included master classes, informal listening sessions, improv workshops and more. Information about current programs is available on the Center’s website, http://www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

[edit] Programs

Since it opened, the Center has presented approximately one thousand events a year, including classical symphonic and chamber music; contemporary dance; jazz; world music and dance; puppetry; vocal recitals; opera; experimental work; and uncategorizable work of many kinds. Post-performance TalkBacks, workshops, seminars, Creative Dialogues, residency activities and the Center’s website are designed to engage the community more deeply in the arts.

To date, the Center has commissioned 26 works in dance, music, theatre and opera—some full-length works, and some individual pieces presented as part of longer programs. In 2007, the Center partnered with the UM School of Music and the National Gallery of Art on a new opera, Later the Same Evening: an opera inspired by five paintings of Edward Hopper, created in conjunction with the National Gallery’s Hopper exhibit. For the 2007-08 season, the Center also co-commissioned the Susan Marshall Company work, "Sawdust Palace."

[edit] William Kapell International Piano Competition & Festival

Since 2003, the Center has produced the William Kapell International Piano Competition & Festival, a quadrennial event that honors American pianist William Kapell, who was renowned for his commitment to the work of American composers. The 2007 competition winner was Russian pianist Sofya Gulyak. In 2003, American pianist Ning An won the competition.

In addition to nearly two weeks of competition, the event also offers concerts by renowned visiting artists, many of whom also participate in discussion and workshop sessions. Big crowds came to the Festival’s Grand Piano Party open house to participate in hands-on workshops and demonstrations, have a slice of grand piano cake, and try for a chance to win a Yamaha Clavinova. Open Piano Night featuring 15 local amateur pianists was held the same weekend.

[edit] Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library

The Center is home to the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, which houses more than 300,000 holdings/ recording in its collection, one of the largest in North America. The Library has more than 60,000 books on music, theatre and dance, and 96 percent of all commercial piano recordings ever issued. The library includes the International Piano Archives at Maryland Collection Room, with piano rolls and a Böesendorfer player piano, one of 13 in the world, modified with a digital recording and playback system. The library also houses The Jim Henson Works at the University of Maryland, which makes available to UM’s community of students, scholars, and visitors more than 70 digital videos spanning 35 years of the UM alum’s groundbreaking work in television and film. These full-length videos are available for viewing at public computer stations in the Performing Arts Library, the McKeldin Library, and the Hornbake Library.

[edit] The Building

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

The 318,000-square-foot (29,500 m²) facility, which opened in September 2001, houses six performance spaces and the university’s academic departments of music, dance and theatre. This arrangement allows the presenting program and the university’s performing arts departments to enjoy a close and mutually beneficial relationship. Performances by faculty and students are as important as performances by visiting artists in the season schedule, and the academic departments provide input into each season’s programming.

The Center was built as 10 different buildings, with 10 separate foundations. The floors were poured separately from the walls so sound doesn’t vibrate and transfer from space to space. The Center also features a special air handling system – no sound of forced air or heat to interfere with performance. Air-reflecting panels are used within the performance venues to cushion sound instead of having it bounce off hard, flat surfaces.

The initial cost of the building was $130 million, supported in partnership by the State of Maryland, the University of Maryland, and Prince George’s County. Named for University of Maryland alumna and Virginia visual artist Clarice Smith, the building was designed by international architects Moore Ruble Yudell in association with Ayers/Saint/Gross; acoustical consultant Kirkegaard and Associates; theatre consultants Theatre Project Consultants Inc.; and lobby interiors, Gensler. Construction was by Turner Construction Company.

[edit] Performance Spaces

The Center has six performance halls: the 1,100-seat Dekelboum Concert Hall; the Kay Theatre, a 650-seat proscenium theatre; the 300-seat Gildenhorn Recital Hall; the 200-seat Dance Theatre; the 180-seat black box Kogod Theatre; and the Laboratory Theatre, which can accommodate up to 75 people.

[edit] Location

The Center serves the University of Maryland, College Park, flagship campus in Prince George’s County, Maryland. It is five miles (8 km) north of Washington, DC; three miles (5 km) east of the Montgomery County, MD line; 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Baltimore; and 30 miles (48 km) west of Annapolis.