By Suzanne Vanderhoef
Powell Symphony Hall – now The Jack C. Taylor Music Center — recently underwent a multi-year, multi-million-dollar expansion and renovation. Visitors now enter through an outdoor terrace area into the new Art Deco inspired lobby and box office …with a spiral staircase reminiscent of the one at the Guggenheim Museum.
But the new joins with the old, thru a hallway to the familiar red, cream and gold of the original part of the building. And that’s just what the audience sees. The changes also enhance the experience of the musicians on stage.
“It’s a total game changer,” says Shannon Wood, Principal Timpanist for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. “You walk into the hall and through the Jack Taylor end, the addition, and there’s a musician’s lounge. We have our dressing rooms. Right there is a timpani room, percussion room. None of that we had before.”
his is only the second major renovation the hall has undergone since it opened as a Vaudeville theater in 1925… and first since it became the permanent home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1968.
This time, however, many of the changes were made with the musicians –and their instruments—front of mind.
“The Timpani room, the percussion room are the real big game changers for us because there was really no space for that before,” explains Wood. “On the side of the stage, there was like an 8×8 room where the timpani were just kind of stuffed. It was also an overflow room for chairs and music stands. The percussion just had a case sitting off stage where they put their stuff. And now you’ll see we have 600 square feet of percussion. The timpani room’s 300 square feet. It’s just really amazing.”
In addition to the new practice and storage areas, there’s also a new library and a musicians lounge. And, although the music is still the main attraction, Wood says these updates elevate everything on and off stage to a whole new level.
“When you have that kind of place of solace, it makes the job more relaxing. You’re able to connect with people in a different way because you have the space to do it. You get to know someone a little bit better or have a conversation that connects to the music you’re playing.”
Hear from St. Louis Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard in STL Made’s story, “Composing the Future.”
