Concert hall hits all the right notes

COSTA MESA — Construction noies filled the air and people in yellow hardhats dotted the area Monday around the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s soon-to-be-completed Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

During the last three years, more an acre of one-of-a-kind panes of glass have been puzzle-pieced together to create the impressive structure, which towers over Avenue of the Arts in Costa Mesa.

More than 120 acoustical doors, each weighing 3,000 to 7,000 pounds, have been hung, and three adjustable canopies weighing up to 86,000 pounds have been installed in anticipation of the symphonies, operas and other concerts that will take to the stage.

The concert hall and the surrounding area is about 96% finished at the one-month mark, which makes it on schedule for the Sept. 15 opening, said Kerry Madden, vice president of operations at the center.

“The concert hall and lobby are virtually complete,” said Terry Dwyer, president and chief operating officer of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. “The lobby has been a dramatic change for the better, and we are confident everything

One month from today,Plácido Domingo will be the first to serenade guests of the new hall with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of the William Bolcom song cycle. On Friday, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra took the stage for the first time to get a feel for the hall, something Dwyer said was moving and beautiful, though incomplete.

“The missing piece is the audience,” he said. “The building will just explode with life when people arrive.”

The Pacific Symphony will be the resident orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Hall, and the musicians are excited to celebrate its opening as well as kick off its classical and pop series — just two of what president John E. Forsyte hopes will be a long series of musical victories at its new “home.”

“We have just incredible anticipation for what this hall will mean for the Pacific Symphony,” he said. “We had the first rehearsal Friday night, and I can simply report that the musicians I spoke with were absolutely thrilled with what they experienced on the stage.”

The approximately 2,000-seat hall presents an opportunity for the symphony to play in a way they are unable to at their other, larger venues.

“It’s easier to play — the musicians don’t have to work as hard to produce a beautiful sound, and it has potential for being extremely flattering, acoustically, to the orchestra,” Forsyte said. “That said, it allows you to be much more nuanced, and that means a different kind of work — every subtle shade of dynamics in the music can be demonstrated in that kind of hall.”

Designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, who has had a long-standing relationship with the center, the new hall will also boast a community plaza and promenade, which will feature tables and chairs as well as a café for residents to enjoy.

“This is a huge leap forward,” Dwyer said. “We’re excited for the space resource offered to the artists, and the fantastic new space resource for the community.”

Center officials have just begun conversations about possible art and entertainment options for the outdoor space, but they do plan on having different activities, such as free public performances to draw residents to the location, whether they are seeing a show in the hall or not.

“We want the public to have lots and lots of reasons to come,” Dwyer said.

The 250,000-square-foot hall is still about $50 million short of its $200-million approved budget, and its opening is helping its fundraising arm — the Building on the Vision campaign. The nonprofit arts organization is always soliciting sponsorships and donations. As building nears completion, Dwyer said, they have started to receive more gifts from donors.

The Samueli Theater, a 500-seat theater in the new hall, is scheduled to open in October. For the next five weeks, the site will be undergoing testing to