With snow falling outside and the holiday less than two weeks away, a group of sixth graders gathered inside the warm and beautiful Royce Auditorium and dangled their legs off the edge of the performance stage. The antsy students from Blanford Environmental School seemed to rather be sledding down a hill, throwing snowballs, or rolling a snow man than preparing to perform in front of hundreds of people. But they waited patiently to rehearse Eloise Johnson’s musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ class A Christmas Carol.
It’s a scene that’s played out hundreds, likely thousands, of times in the concert hall at St. Cecilia’s Music Center, which this year celebrates its 125th anniversary as the gravitational center of the musical experience in greater Grand Rapids.
“Our school has used this space for over 30 years,” says teacher David Buth.
If Grand Rapids had a ‘tiara of the arts,’ the St. Cecilia Music Center would be its crown jewel. With a wide range of symphony, opera, ballet, civic theatre, and other acts and activities, the center is one of the city’s premier cultural institutions. And it continues to evolve to meet the city’s growing need to make and experience music of all kinds.
“We changed the name from ‘society’ to ‘center’ last year to help people understand that we are not a club,” explains Catherine Holbrook, executive director at Saints. “You don’t need a membership.”
In fact, music education, concerts and recitals, and artist events all are open to the public. And Holbrook says there is a wide range of ways people can get involved with, and benefit from, St. Cecilia’s.
“A music-loving family could enroll their children in multiple programs, the parents could come down for a date night and do dinner and a concert, or they could have their daughter’s wedding on stage or in the ballroom,”
The Musical Must Do
According to early Grand Rapids historian Albert Baxter, villagers shared of a love of music and were liberal patrons of the arts. By the mid-19th century, Chase Brother’s Piano Company had moved to town and singing societies, church choirs, and classes taught by ‘singing masters’ flourished.
But for nine women, this simply wasn’t enough. The early members of St. Cecilia’s gathered in their homes and performed privately for each other. Driven by a deep appreciation for song and harmony, however, the group quickly began staging public performances for world renowned musicians and acts. After a spirited fundraising campaign, the group in 1884 raised a striking landmark built specifically to house their activities. The building, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stands at the corner of Ransom and Fulton, directly behind the city’s second oldest standing church, First (Park) Congregational.
“It was very much about chamber music and tea,” Holbrook says. “A small group of very civic minded, music loving, cultural women brought this (she signals her stately surroundings) into being.”
In 1990, the building underwent major historical renovations to both the upstairs ballroom and main hall. Royce Auditorium, the 650-seat classic performance hall, retained its beauty and gained first-class lighting and sound technology. Today, an intimate concert in the Royce is a must-do for anyone seeking the ultimate classical experience.
Antique and modern are on display at St. Cecilia’s in art museum style. President’s Hall portraiture and foyer large format Mathias Alten oil landscapes play counterpoint to the brightly abstract oil pastels of Jeff Condon in the TerryBerry Gallery exhibit downstairs. Angelic St. Cecilia herself plays the organ in an original Tiffany window carefully climate controlled on the staircase. An original artifact terra cotta cherub is displayed in a case for close viewing.
Aficionados and Anniversary
This is a place where community gathers. Piano recitals in the Presidents Hall, the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Casual Coffee Classics in the Royce, and the Grand Rapids Ballet’s annual fundraiser. These energetic events tend to feel a bit like children coming back home for a visit.
Saint’s also offers a multi-faceted educational program covering every age and skill level. There are three youth orchestras, a youth band, and two youth choirs.
Talented and motivated children benefit from extracurricular training and experience while playing alongside peers of similar skill level. Bi-annual concert performances follow school semester schedules. Children audition for placement and tuition is $400.00 per year with scholarship possibilities. Separate camps are scheduled in the summer.
For the older set, an adult program meets in the day. The New Horizons Band or String Orchestra is for adults at any skill level. Horizons Too is a mentored band for beginners or those who want to get back into their high school instrument. And the Ransom Street Big Band plays swing music and tours the community.
But St. Cecilia’s timeless niche is its Presenting Series. “We bring world-renowned, high demand artists here to play the Royce Auditorium for one night only. They are phenomenal players. We look at who is hot, releasing new recordings or up and coming,” Holbrook says. “The Guarneri String Quartet, for example, is coming in February. They are the most celebrated quartet world-wide.”
The Jazz Series is new this year. “We had Branford Marsalis here for the Great Artist Gala, an annual benefit, and tickets sold out a month in advance. We then realized there was a jazz audience out there and we should be presenting more jazz,” Holbrook says. Concerts include a ‘meet the artist’ reception where one can get a program or CD signed.
“We exist to bring music to the community, not to make money,” Holbrook adds. “Every time we have a concert, ticket sales help with costs but we fundraise to make up the difference.” Otherwise the small-scale intimate musical experience would not be affordable to the public.
An annual black tie gala is Saint’s mega fundraiser. The event features a premier artist. Frederica Von Stade, for example, the world-renowned mezzo-soprano, will perform at the 20th annual fundraiser in March 2008.
Another new twist is dinner with a concert. Each performance can be purchased to include fine dining in the building (either ballroom or smaller quarters, depending on reservations). Exclusive caterers from the city’s best restaurants have been scheduled in rotation to serve pre-event dinner reservations.
Celebrate music in style for a night out on the town or, if you work downtown, check out the second Tuesday of every month for a free concert box lunch series at noon. And stay tuned for big happenings in September 2008. That’s when St. Cecilia’s kicks off a 125th anniversary celebration filled with gala events and, above all, the joy of music.
Photos:
Executive Director Catherine Holbrook in the auditorium
Teaching flute during kids' classes (photo by Martha Cudlipp)
A symphony concert composed of kids (photo by Cheri McClain-Beatty)
Teaching french horn (photo by Martha Cudlipp)
St. Cecilia exterior
Photographs by Brian Kelly (except as noted)