Think of concerts at the Eastman School of Music, and you are most apt to conjure up images of the school’s two historic halls: Kodak Hall (formerly Eastman Theatre) and Kilbourn Hall, each a century old.
In 2010, the elegant Hatch Recital Hall opened in the school’s recently built East Wing. (You can take 3D tours of all three here.)
In the middle, chronologically, is Howard Hanson Recital Hall, a modest recital hall on the fourth floor of Eastman’s main building. Hanson (1896-1981), the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, who directed Eastman from 1924 to 1964, was on hand to inaugurate the hall in 1976.
Since then, Hanson Hall has been in continual demand for classes, lecture-recitals, performances by Eastman Community Music Students, guest lectures, and small-scale events. After almost a half century of constant use, this venerable hall was overdue for a makeover.
Jamal Rossi, an Eastman alumnus who had served as dean since 2013, took the initiative in revamping many Eastman facilities during the last decade, including Lowry Hall (the school’s main hall), the main building, the Student Living Center, and a major rebuilding of Messinger Hall, the home of the Eastman Community Music School.
Similarly, during the past decade, all four of Eastman’s important performance halls —sometimes informally called “the jewels in the crown”— have undergone needed physical and technical upgrades. The modernization of Hanson Hall was the last Rossi-led renovation project before his retirement last spring; it was completely gutted and renovated during the 2023-2024 academic year and early this summer. With the coming of a new academic year, the hall is back in business.
Eastman worked with two Rochester-based organizations to complete the project: CJS Architects and Building Services Group. Also in the mix was Eastman’s director of facilities, Paul Spaulding, who was hired in 2022. The Hanson Hall renovation was one of his first large projects.
With fewer than 60 seats and just under 1,100 square feet, this fourth “jewel” is more precisely a single-carat gem, and one of the most state-of-the-art locations on Eastman’s campus. Hanson Hall now allows for flexible usage, in which performances and lectures can be enhanced by a smart control panel and versatile lighting options.
The hall’s stage appears tiny, but it has plenty of room for chamber music recitals, including a beautifully restored 1906 Steinway piano, which was the very last improvement added to the hall. The stage has also been repaneled with wood matching the original.
Backstage is an ample “green room,” a space for performers to prepare for a performance. The green room also contains the “tech hub,” in Spaulding’s phrase, which includes a WiFi internet connection, Apple TV screen, data projector, overhead projector, CD player, cassette deck, LP turntable amp/receiver, and speakers.
An especially important element of the tech hub is the installation of updated self-recording audio and video equipment for student use, including two 4k cameras, a high-quality hanging stereo microphone and next-day access to recital recordings. For teachers, a well-equipped lectern allows for overhead projections during classes.
Other improvements include a fresh paint job, refinished steps, noise-reducing curtains, better lighting, and the removal of a step for greater accessibility.
In a statement before the reopening, Rossi stated: “Hanson Hall is now a multi-use space that integrates highly advanced technology into an acoustically and aesthetically pleasing hall. I am grateful to the many craftspeople, technicians and Eastman colleagues who brought this project to fruition.”
Spaulding describes the Eastman community’s response to the renovation as “very positive.”
“After almost 50 years, Hanson Hall was outdated and pretty tired,” he says. “But now it’s ready for fall.”
David Raymond is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
You missed one: The Kilian and Caroline Schmitt Organ Recital Hall houses the custom-built Van Daalen organ. While students frequently perform their degree recitals on one of the many spectacular instruments in local churches, Schmitt Hall is Eastman’s premier on-campus space for lessons, workshops, and jury performances. The instrument has mechanical key action and electric stop action, and a Solid State Logic combination system with 256 memory levels. The 75-seat hall, which opened in 1978, integrates the organ casework and the acoustic characteristics of the instrument into its design.
In 1982, the hall was named in honor of Kilian and Caroline Schmitt, in gratitude for their generous gift to Eastman that supported the cost of the hall construction and the organ. The Dobson Organ Company fully restored the organ in 2000, with funding from the Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Foundation.