Bass Performance Hall
The Bass Performance Hall (also known as Bass Hall) is a performing arts venue, located in Fort Worth, Texas.
Exterior view of venue (c.2006) | |
Full name | Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall |
---|---|
Address | 525 Commerce St Fort Worth, TX 76102-5440 |
Location | Downtown Fort Worth |
Owner | City of Forth Worth |
Operator | Performing Arts Fort Worth, Inc. |
Capacity | 2,042 (Founders Concert Theater) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | April 1995 |
Opened | May 1, 1998 |
Construction cost | $65 million ($109 million in 2019 dollars[1]) |
Architect | Schwarz Architects HKS Architects |
Project manager | Fisher Dachs Associates |
Structural engineer | Moore and Associates |
General contractor | Linbeck Construction |
Tenants | |
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (1998-present) Fort Worth Opera (1998-present) Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2001-present) Texas Ballet Theater (2003-present) | |
Website | |
Venue Website |
Overview
The hall was first suggested by pianist Van Cliburn to philanthropist Nancy Lee Bass and her husband, Perry Richardson Bass.[2][3]
It was built with limestone and designed by David M. Schwarz of Architectural Services, Inc. in 1998.[4] It is characteristic of the classic European opera house form. An 80-foot-diameter (24 m) Great Dome, artfully painted by Scott and Stuart Gentling, tops the Founders Concert Theater. Two 48-foot-tall (15 m) angels sculpted by Marton Varo from Texas limestone grace the Grand Façade.[5]
It seats 2,056 people. Built as a multi-purpose facility, the Hall is able to house symphony, ballet, opera, stage, musicals, and rock concerts.[6] It is also now the permanent home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and Cliburn Concerts. Performing Arts Fort Worth, which manages the Hall, also hosts its own performances here, including national touring Broadway productions and a family series.
In 2001, the adjacent Maddox-Muse Center officially opened; and with it, the new Van Cliburn Recital Hall and the McDavid Studio with 220 seats (renamed in 2006 from McNair Rehearsal Studio). Also housed within Maddox-Muse Center are offices for Performing Arts Fort Worth, the non-profit organization that oversees management of the Hall, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Fleetwood Mac guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham's performance at the hall on January 27, 2007 was recorded on his live album, Live at the Bass Performance Hall, which was released a year later on March 25, 2008.
See also
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bass Performance Hall. |
- Bass Performance Hall official website
References
- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- Steve Campbell, Nancy Lee Bass was the "first lady of Fort Worth", Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 1, 2013
- Nancy Lee Bass dies at 95 Archived 2014-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, WFAA, March 1, 2013
- Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall Archived 2014-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, Michelin Guide
- Marton Varo: Public gallery
- Architecture in Fort Worth: Bass Hall