Located at the gateway to the university, the new $82m arts centre - designed by architect Pfeiffer Partners in collaboration with Theatre Projects, acoustician Nagata Acoustics, and AV consultant Sonitus - gives Chapman University a characteristic architectural icon designed to meet the needs of their award-winning Conservatory of Music, and the Departments of Music and Theatre.
The building features the 1,044-seat Julianne Argyros Orchestra Hall, a remarkable and versatile multipurpose theatre. Theatre Projects worked with the design team to create an intimate auditorium - with a mezzanine, side boxes, and two levels of balconies that step down toward the stage. The seating wraps the audience around the stage and draws them closer to the performers for memorable and impactful performances. The theatre features a large stage with full fly tower, stage traps, and two orchestra lifts that can create a Broadway pit, large opera pit, or stage extension when in concert mode. It also has a modern theatrical dimming and relay system, advanced LED lighting, and a full array of rigging, including a motorized house curtain.
But the real story of the room is its versatility. The university wanted both a dynamic performance space for drama, dance and opera, and a world-class venue for symphonic and choral music. So the design team created a room that can transform from proscenium theatre to concert hall in less than an hour through the use of a one-of-a-kind fully flown orchestra shell. The 120,000-pound shell, designed by Nagata Acoustics, not only creates an exceptionally dynamic sonic environment, but also provides a cohesive architectural style to the room.
"What's great about the Musco Centre, and what we put a lot of care and effort into, was making a beautiful performance space that doesn't just feel like a room with an orchestra shell wedged into it," Michael Ferguson, Theatre Projects' project manager, said. "It's not just a proscenium theatre that we put a shell in; it's a concert hall where we can take the shell out. It's one of the most well-integrated orchestra shells we've ever designed."
The centre also features a musician and choral staging area, dressing rooms, green room, scenic repair shop, costume shop, administrative offices, artist's lounge, and a state-of-the-art recording studio where students of sound engineering, editing, and multimedia studies will get hands-on experience with cutting-edge equipment.
The studio will be equipped with Internet 2 technology, which is used by more than 60,000 institutions and allows users to instantaneously stream, share, and receive immense amounts of information with ease. With the technology, the university can stream live concerts, lectures, and performances instantly across the world.
Theatre Projects provided programming, concept design, theatre planning, and performance equipment design and specification for the arts centre, which opened its doors to the public with an extraordinary concert featuring opera legends Placido Domingo, Deborah Voigt, Milena Kitic, and an orchestra and chorus of more than 150 Chapman students.
(Jim Evans)
