“Think of it as a sonata rather than a symphony,” writes Graydon Royce in Friday’s (6/19) Star Tribune (Minneapolis). “The Minnesota Orchestra this morning unveiled a $40 million project to remodel its 35-year-old hall in downtown Minneapolis. That represents a significant telescoping of a project that the orchestra proposed in May 2007 as a $90 million endeavor. ‘We are trying to be fiscally responsible and very focused,’ said Michael Henson, the orchestra’s president. ‘We have tested every aspect of this project, and it’s critical to get something of lasting significance.’ The orchestra has selected the Toronto firm of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) to lead the redesign, which is intended primarily to address capacity issues in the lobby and service facilities and address the exterior. Henson said he anticipates that KPMB will select a local partner on the project. … The firm has worked on many renovations of cultural institutions, including the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and Canada’s National Ballet School. … The orchestra has raised $14 million toward the project. Of the remaining money, board chairman Jack Eugster said the organization will seek $14 million through public bonding from the state and the remaining amount from private sources. The project is tentatively slated for a January 2013 completion.”
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Orchestra
Posted June 22, 2009
