Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Hill Auditorium

The next stop on my Albert Kahn tour was Hill Auditorium. I don't remember if I've posted pictures of this building on here or not. I'm pretty sure I have as it is a fairly prominent structure on campus. Unfortunately, it's placement doesn't lend itself too well to taking pictures (maybe if I got that wide angle lens I've been thinking about though).

Hill Auditorium was named in honor of Arthur Hill who was a regent of the University from 1901 to 1909. He bequeathed $200,000 to the Unversity for the construction of a venue for lectures and musical performances. It has seating for roughly 3,500 people.

The bulding was opened in 1913 and it was hailed as a monument to perfect acoustics. Mr. Kahn collaborated with an acoustical engineer named Hugh Tallant.

The auditorium was renovated in 2004 and great steps were taken to preserve the acoustics of the building. In fact, you can hear a pin dropped on the stage at the back of the auditorium.
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4 comments:

  1. BlueDragonMarch 2, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    The acoustics at Hill are some of the best in the country. I played many concerts there as a U-M music major. The only problem with the setup is that backstage area is very limited.

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  2. MikoyanMarch 2, 2011 at 10:46 PM

    I will have to go see a concert there one of these days. I would love to see a classical concert.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 3, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    There are lots of fantastic classical concerts to choose from--UMS does a great job bringing groups in. I've seen the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and many more on the stage at Hill.

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  4. BlueDragonMarch 3, 2011 at 9:02 PM

    Check out www.music.umich.edu sometime. The School of Music is the best in the Big Ten and they put on hundreds of free concerts a year. I'd recommend the Symphony Band. The operas and musical theatre productions the school puts on are top-notch as well.

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