Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
is a performance hall located in New York
's Hudson Valley
. The center provides audiences with performances and programs in orchestral, chamber, and jazz music and theater, dance, and opera by American and international artists. Designed by architect
Frank Gehry
, the 110,000-square foot (10,000 m²) center houses two theaters, four rehearsal studios for dance, theater, and music, and professional support facilities. The total cost of the project reached $62 million. The New Yorker
calls it "[possibly] the best small concert hall in the United States." http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/030602crsk_skyline
The Sosnoff Theater, an intimate, 900-seat theater with an orchestra, parterre, and two balcony sections, features an orchestra pit for opera and acoustics designed by Yasuhisa Toyota
, including an acoustic shell that turns the theater into a concert hall for performances of chamber and symphonic music.
The flexible 200-seat Theater Two houses Bard’s Theater and Dance Programs during the academic year. The Fisher Center is also the home of the Bard Music Festival
, entering its 20th season in July 2009, hosting companies from the United States and abroad during Bard SummerScape
, a festival of opera, theater, and dance.
The PAC is devoted primarily to teaching and college events during the academic year and used as a public performing arts facility and venue for the college’s graduate programs in the arts during the summer months.
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
is a performance hall located in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
. The center provides audiences with performances and programs in orchestral, chamber, and jazz music and theater, dance, and opera by American and international artists. Designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
, the 110,000-square foot (10,000 m²) center houses two theaters, four rehearsal studios for dance, theater, and music, and professional support facilities. The total cost of the project reached $62 million. The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
calls it "[possibly] the best small concert hall in the United States." http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/030602crsk_skyline
Yasuhisa Toyota
is an acoustician who has been chief acoustician for over 50 projects worldwide, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Bard College Performing Arts Center in New York, and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. He is the company director and U.S...
, including an acoustic shell that turns the theater into a concert hall for performances of chamber and symphonic music.
The flexible 200-seat Theater Two houses Bard’s Theater and Dance Programs during the academic year. The Fisher Center is also the home of the Bard Music Festival
Bard Music Festival
The Bard Music Festival is an annual classical music festival held during the month of August on the campus of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Founded in 1990, the festival was created with the intention of finding ways to present the history of music in innovative ways to...
, entering its 20th season in July 2009, hosting companies from the United States and abroad during Bard SummerScape
Bard SummerScape
Bard SummerScape is an annual seven week long arts festival held during the months of July and August at Bard College. Founded in 2002, the festival is held in tandem with the Bard Music Festival and features performances of opera, dance, theater, music, film, and cabaret. The festival attracts...
, a festival of opera, theater, and dance.
The PAC is devoted primarily to teaching and college events during the academic year and used as a public performing arts facility and venue for the college’s graduate programs in the arts during the summer months.
External links
- Official Site for the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
- Review of the Fisher Center in the New Yorker
- Review of Fisher Center in "Live Design"
See also
- Richard B. Fisher namesake of the hall, chairman emeritus of Morgan Stanley.