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Music Hall's Planned Changes And Timetable

With $6.5 million left to raise of a $129 million renovation project, the Music Hall Revitalization Companynamed architects  Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel (PWWG) and Martinez + Johnson at a Monday news conference.

PWWG Managing Partner Alan Weiskopf called Music Hall "the living room of OTR and Washington Park."

The design team and the revitalization company already have plans which include:

  1. Restoring the heritage of a world-class facility for performers and audiences.
  2. Significantly enhancing the acoustics of the auditorium and the overall audience experience.
  3. Improving accessibility and modernizing the facilities to make them state-of-the-art
  4. Economizing operational and back-of-house needs and uses.
  5. Executing lasting structural improvements required to secure building longevity.

Construction Timetable

Music Hall will close for renovations at the end of May 2016 after the May Festival and remain closed until the fall of 2017. During that time the Cincinnati Opera and the Cincinnati Ballet will perform at the Aronoff Center while the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will be at the Taft Theatre.

Some specifics included in the renovation plan Music Hall Director of Operations Scott Santangelo showed WVXU on a walking tour include:

  • An additional loading dock. The current one is narrow and productions usually have more than one truck.
  • Another large rehearsal room to be built in the current paint shop. The only one now is shared by the May Festival Chorus and the Opera.
  • Bigger bathrooms near the rehearsal room.

In addition, the Music Hall Revitalization Company says new lighting technology will be installed and bricked-over windows will be restored.
According to Revitalization Company Chair Otto Budig (who sits on the Cincinnati Public Radio Board), "We've arrived at a pivotal point in this momentous project and when a generation beyond ours views the results, they will say 'well done.'"

Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.