Friday night, during the intermission of an Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra concert, I looked up from my task as a volunteer
to see the concert-goers enjoying the time to talk with friends
over drinks and treats. The orchestra's venue, the
Hilbert Circle Theatre, is a restored performance hall that was built on
Monument Circle in 1916 to replace a livery stable. It hosted movies
and live acts for many years, until falling into disrepair in the 1970s.
When the ISO decided to move back downtown from
Clowes Hall, the Circle Theatre was restored to its original
Neo-Classical Revival style, re-opening in 1984.
The orchestra is world class, has world class conductors,
and hosts some of the finest musical artists in the world
in its intimate hall - its stage area specially configured to suit
the needs of the orchestra. Oddly enough, the lobby area
shown in these photos was actually part of the original
performance hall - a wood and glass wall has been constructed
to separate the auditorium from the lobby and mezzanine areas.
3 comments:
Cool! What was the gig? I'm off to see the Britten Sinfonia this evening and you just whetted my appetite.
Hi, Dive! Because I can't afford tickets, I decided to volunteer some time for the ISO. So far, I've worked 4 evenings, one of which was pianist Garrick Ohlssen playing Chopin's 1st piano concerto. Last week it was Verdi's Requiem.
In return, I get a voucher good for 1 ticket to a future concert of my choice. A friend and I plan to see Joshua Bell next spring - so there's 1 pair spoken for.
Last night was a pops-oriented theme - the film "Singin' in the Rain" with the orchestra playing the music track. It was actually pretty cool. My earlier gig was working in coat check but last night I was assigned to greet patrons at a table in the lobby which had flyers promoting upcoming concerts. I worked with one of the ISO musicians, a violinist. She enjoys meeting people, chatting with them about her work, etc. Luckily, she told me she would suggest that I be assigned that job in the future as she found me pleasant and not afraid to interact with folks. Yay!
Cool indeed. What a great idea.
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