When it opened in 2005, the Music Center at Strathmore was a dream realized for Montgomery County—an acoustically pristine concert venue, suited to orchestral music yet sophisticated enough to suit a myriad of genres, that would attract a new caliber and diversity of world class artists for the enjoyment and enrichment of the wider D.C. metro region. As significant an accomplishment as this was, four years after breaking ground in 2001, the 190,000-square-foot Music Center, a flagship arts venue for the region, wasn’t fully completed.
Today, Strathmore shares for the first time its ambitions and renderings for the final build-out of the Music Center. The $10 million renovation adds 5,000 square feet to the venue by enclosing the Bou Terrace and addresses patron mobility with the addition of an escalator descending from the building’s main Promenade level to the Orchestra level, a decision based on patron analysis and feedback to enhance accessibility and reduce congestion. The glass-enclosed addition will add 200 seats to address sorely needed space for pre-concert dining, and also presents new possibilities for rentals, meetings, and performances. The floor-to-ceiling glass panels will recess, opening fully to the outside, where patrons can still enjoy generous balcony space and the Tetra Con Brio sculpture, a fixture of the Music Center which will be relocated as a result of the renovations. Placement of the escalator requires that the men’s bathroom and entrance to Strathmore’s Comcast Lounge on the Orchestra level be relocated as well.
The project is scheduled to be completed in January of 2020, in time for the Music Center’s 15th anniversary season. As it did for initial construction of the Music Center, the State of Maryland led the charge again with an initial $3 million investment in the project. The remaining funds will come from a mix of State and County support, as well as private funding sources.
“This project will be the capstone to the Music Center at Strathmore, extending to our patrons a level of customer service, dining, and mobility no less grand than the remarkable concert hall itself,” said Pfanstiehl. “It is the Manifest Destiny of this fully realized dream, begun in 2005.”
Lead architect is Grimm & Parker Architects of Bethesda. The firm contributed to the original design of the Music Center in partnership with William Rawn Associates, which includes among its projects Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood and Berklee College of Music.
“When the Music Center opened in 2005, it was the culmination of an exemplary public/private partnership that greatly benefited our community. I’m pleased to support Strathmore as we again work together to bring the original vision for the Music Center to fruition,” said Maryland Senator Richard S. Madaleno Jr. “Already known as the cultural heart of Montgomery County, the renovations proposed by Strathmore will enhance the Music Center’s value to the community, with flexible space and improved amenities.”
The Music Center at Strathmore is comprised of its hallmark 1,976 seat concert hall and education center. It was funded by a public/private partnership supported by the State of Maryland, Montgomery County, and private corporate and local sponsorship. Resident artistic and educational partners are the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Washington Performing Arts, CityDance, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras of Strathmore, and Levine School of Music.
More than 125,000 people attend Strathmore-presented programs on its campus annually—this does not take into account additional attendance from rentals and partner organizations. In its last season, Strathmore alone hosted 48 performances in the Music Center, 16 of which were sold out engagements. More than 65,000 community members attend Strathmore’s free programs, including the Free Summer Outdoor Concert series and Discover Strathmore.
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