Bing Concert Hall site begins to take final form

May 15, 2012, 2:03 a.m.
Bing Concert Hall site begins to take final form
The body of the Bing Concert Hall is largely formed. University officials said the concert hall, which will host both professional and student performances, is around 75 percent complete and will be finished in October. (ROGER CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

The rising Bing Concert Hall, a project seeking to build a “world class performing arts center” according to signage near the site, has made significant progress this spring and is beginning to resemble its finished form. Located across Palm Drive from Cantor Arts Center, the concert hall is set to open in Fall 2012 with its first performances scheduled for January 2013.

“Construction is 75 percent complete,” said Maggie Burgett, project manager for the concert hall. “We will have substantial completion at the end of August.”

Burgett said that final touches on the project will continue into October.

The building consists of a tall, stucco cylinder with a square glass lobby surrounding it. According to Burgett, a metal trim will be added to some parts of the stucco cylinder to complete the building’s façade.

The whole facility will ultimately include a lobby, artist suites, a 2,300-square foot rehearsal hall, offices, practice rooms and storage space, in addition to the concert hall.

Although construction will finish around October, Burgett said the performances will not begin until January 2013 to allow time to tune the building and for the music department and Lively Arts program to move in.

“The Bing Concert Hall will feature a wide mix of programming in many different genres, including both visiting artists and student performers,” said Matthew Tiews, executive director of arts programs, in an email to The Daily.

Acts scheduled for the 844-seat concert hall’s opening year include percussionist Glenn Kotche, cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing with pianist Kathryn Stott, and pianists Emanuel Ax and Jon Nakamatsu, according to the Stanford Report.

“The hall will be high-use,” Burgett said, noting that the opening year acts are “typical of what will be presented” at the concert hall.

Tiews said that the concert hall will also be available for some student groups. Performances will include the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Chorus and computer-based performers from Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA).

The hall represents part of a University effort to enhance arts programming. The Study of Undergraduate Education at Stanford (SUES) report even mentioned the idea of creating an unofficial “arts district” on campus, using Cantor and Bing as anchors.

Two more buildings planned to help define the arts district, the Anderson Collection at Stanford and the McMurtry Art and Art History Building, will open in 2014 and 2015, respectively, near Bing Hall.

Login or create an account

Apply to The Daily’s High School Summer Program

Priority deadline is april 14

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds