I recently attended the American Symphony Orchestra League conference in “Music City,” Nashville, Tennessee (where the League announced its new name: the League of American Orchestras). As with these conferences, a couple of performances were scheduled (we were all gathered together in the name of music, after all!), and I attended a wonderfully adventurous and invigorating concert given by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra in the 9-month-old Schermerhorn Symphony Center, home of the Nashville Symphony.
It’s a beautiful hall, modeled after the “shoebox” design of the Musikverein in Vienna. What’s special about it are the plentiful natural light illuminating the wood interior and the technology that provides flexibility to accommodate various types of events, including main floor seats on motorized platforms that allow them to be quickly stored away, converting the venue from a concert hall into a ballroom. The acoustics, also boosted by technological advances, are very fine.
A further distinctive feature is the seating. The only fixed seats are those at the rear of the hall, opposite the stage. The second and third level seats are comfortable, upholstered armchairs that can be moved around, and these chairs also have small side tables that can hold a drink or program book.
For the Nashville Chamber Orchestra concert I heard, the main floor was not set with concert-style seats, but rather filled with cocktail tables and chairs, and waiters served beverages up to the time of the start of the performance, right in front of the stage! How nice would it be to sip a glass of wine while listening to a live performance of Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen?
From this informal set-up to the interesting programming to the obvious commitment of the musicians, it was a very friendly and engaging experience. Bravo to all who had a hand in thinking about how to make a beautiful, user- and music-friendly hall and to the NCO for creating an energetic and welcoming concert event.
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