After four months of work, the Eastman Theatre, built in the 1920s by George Eastman, reopened this weekend as a 21st century concert hall. Audiences experienced a visual and acoustical transformation that dramatically enhances the concert experience.
While retaining its grand Italian Renaissance style, the newly renamed Kodak Hall features a new sound system as well as new patron amenities. The addition of orchestra- and mezzanine-level boxes and a new back wall on the orchestra level return more sound energy to support both the performers and the patrons seated in the orchestra level. Approximately 800 seats have been removed on the orchestra level and the walls carefully reshaped for concertgoers to feel more enveloped in the sound. The removal of back rows of seats not only creates a greater intimacy on the orchestra level, but also allows for the expansion of the hall’s inner lobby and the creation of five lounges, providing more comfortable gathering spaces. Kodak Hall also has new carpeting, a new heating and air conditioning system, and enhanced house and exit lighting.
The Rochester Philharmonic opened the hall on Thursday, October 8, and on Friday October 9, the Eastman Philharmonia consecrated the house with Beethoven’s famous overture and the 5th Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich. It was a stunning evening; the video shows the newly renovated theater shortly before the Philharmonia began the concert on Friday night.
The renovation of the performance hall is part of a $46.9 million project at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music that also includes a new building, currently under construction, for teaching, rehearsal, and performing spaces.
A magnitude-5.5 earthquake struck at the Ontario-Quebec border region of Canada at 1:40 p.m. EDT today, shaking homes and businesses from Toronto to Rochester, NY and was also felt in parts of Michigan and Vermont.
