Barshinger Center Opens Doors to Applause

Barshinger Center Opens Doors to Applause
by Douglas Keegan

Finally, Lancaster-area performing arts fans have a classical music venue worthy of serious attention. Hensel Hall, the former 800-seat assembly hall at Franklin & Marshall College, has just undergone a major renovation and is sporting a new look, artistic focus, and audience appeal that bodes well for the region’s artistic health.

Appropriately renamed The Ann and Richard Barshinger Center in Hensel Hall, in honor of a large sum Richard Barshinger (a 1943 alumnus) and his wife donated to the capital campaign, the renovated concert space will play host to some the world’s greatest classical artists.

Though the hall opened on February 12, the official dedication ceremony is to take place on March 25, with the esteemed soprano Jessye Norman as keynote speaker. Thus far, audiences have heard the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, The Camerata of New York with faculty member Bruce Gustafson on harpsichord, and a stage version of F&M music professor John Carbon’s fanciful opera “Benjamin”.

So far, the reception has been tremendous. “The hall has surpassed all our hopes and expectations, we have heard nothing but the highest praise from both the musicians and audience members,” said Bruce Gustafson, speaking for the committee coordinating the inaugural concert series.

The reconfiguration boasts a scaled-down seating capacity of 500 (for a more intimate setting), state-of-the-art facilities, improved acoustics, a larger stage that accommodates up to 135 performers, and an elegant interior, replete with traditional touches of Colonial-style curved wooden handrails and window framing, all done to maintain the original feel of the hall.

“The sound is so warm and crystal clear, and the proportions are just right … there is not one bad seat in the house, ” said Gustafson.

With the new hall comes an elevated artistic focus, not only for the concert series itself, but also for the music program at F&M in general. Gustafson explains, “Students in the long run will benefit from the hall. It will provide an enormous lift to the music program, attracting top students from around the country who otherwise would have gone elsewhere.”

Slated for the remainder of this year’s inaugural series are a number of noteworthy concerts. On March 23, Evelyn Glennie, (pictured Right) the most amazing phenomenon to hit the classical music scene in decades, will bring her hard-hitting, solo percussionist style to a program as much admired for its improvisation as its traditional repertoire. Glennie, deaf since childhood, has single-handedly popularized percussion music, winning numerous awards and international recognition in the process.

She performs regularly with the world’s top orchestras and is constantly in demand, demonstrating her extraordinary virtuosity and sensitivity on a variety of percussion instruments. A native of Scotland, she has released several best-selling recordings as an exclusive RCA Victor Red Seal artist. Recently, she has worked with the Icelandic rock singer Björk — appearing on MTV’s “Björk Unplugged” — part of an ongoing collaboration that has included the co-writing and recording of several pieces, including “My Spine,” released as a CD single and on the album Telegram.

For the dedication ceremony scheduled March 25, F&M commissioned award-winning American composer Bruce Saylor, a professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, for a celebratory piece. Entitled “The Idea of Us”, the work is based on a poem by poet, essayist, and Yale Review editor Jay. D. McClatchy. Saylor asked his long-time collaborator (McClatchy wrote the libretto for Saylor’s opera “Orpheus Descending,” which had its premiere at the Chicago Lyric Opera back in 1994) to write a poem to which he could set music for the dedication ceremony.

McClatchy accepted the challenge. “He came up with the idea of the American ideal of democracy,” Saylor said during a telephone interview. “It is in three parts, from the inception of our democracy, to the Civil War, and finally to modern times … it touches on all aspects of our struggle to achieve and sustain our democratic freedoms, be they ordinary or sublime.”

The piece is written for full orchestra and chorus, with a choir of angels placed at the back of the hall for added effect during the second movement. Saylor’s musical style is predominately atonal, but for this piece he good-humoredly admitted that he would be using lush harmonies with a rich orchestration. In other words, it will be accessible. Since the March 25 event is already sold out, F&M scheduled another concert on April 7, at 8:00 p.m., free to the public.

The last concert on the spring series, April 5, will feature internationally renowned pianist Peter Serkin, performing on a brand new Steinway concert grand that replaced the old, beat-up Baldwin that had previously held court at Hensel Hall. Serkin, a thoroughbred among the stable of humdrum pianists on today’s circuit, is the son of piano legend Rudolf Serkin. He is relentlessly honest in his artistic approach and has received critical acclaim for his interpretations of such diverse composers as Bach and Messiaen. While he has been expanding his repertoire to include contemporary works, many of which have been written specifically for him, he has been returning to the Viennese classics, a genre his father championed throughout his career. Serkin’s recording of six Mozart concerti was nominated for a Grammy and the album was selected “Best Recording of the Year” and one of the best recordings of the past two decades by Stereo Review.

All in all, Central Pennsylvania has much to look forward to from the Barshinger Series at F&M. Recent performances have been sold out, and audiences are reserving tickets far in advance. And with ticket prices at only $5, you’d be hard pressed to find a better entertainment deal. For Barshinger event information and tickets, call the concert line at 399-7171.