rdaner
Senior Member
Please move this if there is a more appropriate thread but since it concerns such an important Toronto institution and a noted local firm and will be used mostly by people in the city, I thought I'd throw caution to the wind.
Symphony awaits its Tanglewood
Nov 08, 2007 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
They're calling it by a code name, Project Niagara. A more revealing name would be Tanglewood North.
You have not heard about it before because no one is ready to announce anything.
But the National Arts Centre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are joining forces to create a major new summer music festival and tourist attraction.
It will be located not in Toronto or Ottawa but in Niagara, where it should make beautiful synergy with the Shaw Festival and Canada's most fruitful wine country.
The outdoor concert venue would include a covered stage area and some covered seating areas, but most people in the audience would sit on an uncovered lawn area, as they do at Tanglewood (the much-loved summer home of the Boston Symphony in northwest Massachusetts) and at Frank Gehry's stupendous new Pritzker bandshell in Chicago's Millennium Park.
"We are aiming for something first-class with the clout and international reputation of Tanglewood," says Peter Herrndorf, CEO of the National Arts Centre.
"We are still working on feasibility studies, but if all goes well we would aim for opening in 2011 or 2012."
Herrndorf and Andrew Shaw of the TSO have been working on the scheme for about two years, with the help of a $75,000 grant from the Ontario government.
"We see it as a destination cultural attraction," says Kari Cullen, a Montreal-based consultant who has been hired by the two organizations to develop a plan, along with Toronto-based consultant Jon Linton.
"We need a gorgeous site where we can not only present concerts of top calibre but also show off the glorious natural beauty of Niagara's flora and fauna, and tell the story of its rich history," Cullen says.
So far the project is still a feasibility study, but it has progressed way beyond a pipe dream and seems to have unstoppable momentum.
KPMB, the Toronto architecture firm responsible for designing many of Toronto's recent arts projects – including new homes for the National Ballet School, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Toronto International Film Festival Group – has been hired to do a rough sketch of a building.
According to Herrndorf, the festival would operate from mid-May to late September, with the NAC Orchestra (led by Pinchas Zukerman) and the TSO (led by Peter Oundjian) the featured attraction for several weeks each.
A major Toronto fundraising firm has been contracted to come up with a plan for raising money. No budget number has been established, but it is likely to be well over $50 million but less than $100 million. Help would be needed from both Ottawa and Queen's Park, and local wineries might be expected to contribute on the private side.
Both the NAC and the TSO would be represented on the board of the new organization.
"It would be a plus-plus for us to have another cultural institution in the area," says Jackie Maxwell, artistic director of the Shaw Festival. "I'm sure it would attract new people from the music world, and that would be great for us."
and:
Nov 14, 2007 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
This may well be Canada's most alluring future waterfront complex: a scenic wonderland featuring three lagoons as well as a historic site. It is spread across 264 acres just west of Niagara-on-the-Lake, bounded by Lake Ontario and Lakeshore Rd.
Officially owned by Parks Canada but controlled for the past century by the Department of National Defence, this prime land is ready for a metamorphosis. And it has been targeted by the National Arts Centre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as the perfect location for an ambitious new summer music festival that would draw nature-loving classical music devotees from all over the world.
As reported last week in this column, the NAC's CEO, Peter Herrndorf, and Andrew Shaw of the TSO have been hatching a scheme to create a summer home that would feature both their orchestras.
Everyone involved has been tight-lipped about potential sites, but insiders are abuzz about the defence department site, which has no official name and is known locally simply as "old army land."
For years much of it has been unused. What makes it precious is its unique combination of natural beauty and historic significance. It was here that American forces landed in 1813 on the way to what turned out to be the definitive battle of the War of 1812 at Fort George.
In fact, the property is divided into several sections with distinct identities. On the far west is a park called Niagara Shores, where you can commune with nature or walk your dog. This area, run by Parks Canada and open to the public, is likely to be kept as it is.
Adjacent to Niagara Shores on the park's east side is an old army training spot known officially as Area C. It borders on a magnificent forest featuring rare oaks, but it has been closed for years. More than half a century ago, this is where Canadian soldiers being prepared for the Korean War got their basic training.
To the east of Area C is a tract of land with three beautiful lagoons currently used for sewage by the municipal government of Niagara Region, which administers it.
This is probably the most desirable location for Tanglewood North, which would be anchored by a 2,000-seat covered bandshell but open on one side so that the music would flow beyond the protected seating area to reach others sitting on the lawns with blankets and folding chairs. Another site would be needed for sewage.
On the eastern edge of the army land is an abandoned rifle range, which has been closed and gated in recent times. Because it is close to a residential area near Shakespeare Ave., this section is regarded as less appropriate for a bandshell.
Before any commitment can be made about the future use of this land, it has to be decommissioned and cleaned up by the Department of National Defence and turned over to Parks Canada, according to Chris Zoetewey, technical services operator for the Niagara National Historic Sites division of Parks Canada.
"The next stage would be to do an assessment of what this land could be used for while respecting the guidelines and priorities of Parks Canada and preserving its heritage," he says.
"Ultimately that decision would be up to the federal minister of the environment."
Gary Burroughs, mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, says the idea of creating a music festival on this land is exciting, but he warns: "There are also major challenges, such as traffic. But I hope there's a decision soon about the music festival so we can deal with facts."
The NAC and TSO have hired a fundraiser to do a feasibility study and contracted KPMB to do rough architectural drawings.
But can they persuade the federal government to give them the land at a price they can afford?
I predict a positive outcome. It's too good an opportunity to pass up.
Memo to NAC conductor Pinchas Zukerman and TSO conductor Peter Oundjian: the opening concert in June 2012 should climax with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
Symphony awaits its Tanglewood
Nov 08, 2007 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
They're calling it by a code name, Project Niagara. A more revealing name would be Tanglewood North.
You have not heard about it before because no one is ready to announce anything.
But the National Arts Centre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra are joining forces to create a major new summer music festival and tourist attraction.
It will be located not in Toronto or Ottawa but in Niagara, where it should make beautiful synergy with the Shaw Festival and Canada's most fruitful wine country.
The outdoor concert venue would include a covered stage area and some covered seating areas, but most people in the audience would sit on an uncovered lawn area, as they do at Tanglewood (the much-loved summer home of the Boston Symphony in northwest Massachusetts) and at Frank Gehry's stupendous new Pritzker bandshell in Chicago's Millennium Park.
"We are aiming for something first-class with the clout and international reputation of Tanglewood," says Peter Herrndorf, CEO of the National Arts Centre.
"We are still working on feasibility studies, but if all goes well we would aim for opening in 2011 or 2012."
Herrndorf and Andrew Shaw of the TSO have been working on the scheme for about two years, with the help of a $75,000 grant from the Ontario government.
"We see it as a destination cultural attraction," says Kari Cullen, a Montreal-based consultant who has been hired by the two organizations to develop a plan, along with Toronto-based consultant Jon Linton.
"We need a gorgeous site where we can not only present concerts of top calibre but also show off the glorious natural beauty of Niagara's flora and fauna, and tell the story of its rich history," Cullen says.
So far the project is still a feasibility study, but it has progressed way beyond a pipe dream and seems to have unstoppable momentum.
KPMB, the Toronto architecture firm responsible for designing many of Toronto's recent arts projects – including new homes for the National Ballet School, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Toronto International Film Festival Group – has been hired to do a rough sketch of a building.
According to Herrndorf, the festival would operate from mid-May to late September, with the NAC Orchestra (led by Pinchas Zukerman) and the TSO (led by Peter Oundjian) the featured attraction for several weeks each.
A major Toronto fundraising firm has been contracted to come up with a plan for raising money. No budget number has been established, but it is likely to be well over $50 million but less than $100 million. Help would be needed from both Ottawa and Queen's Park, and local wineries might be expected to contribute on the private side.
Both the NAC and the TSO would be represented on the board of the new organization.
"It would be a plus-plus for us to have another cultural institution in the area," says Jackie Maxwell, artistic director of the Shaw Festival. "I'm sure it would attract new people from the music world, and that would be great for us."
and:
Nov 14, 2007 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
This may well be Canada's most alluring future waterfront complex: a scenic wonderland featuring three lagoons as well as a historic site. It is spread across 264 acres just west of Niagara-on-the-Lake, bounded by Lake Ontario and Lakeshore Rd.
Officially owned by Parks Canada but controlled for the past century by the Department of National Defence, this prime land is ready for a metamorphosis. And it has been targeted by the National Arts Centre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as the perfect location for an ambitious new summer music festival that would draw nature-loving classical music devotees from all over the world.
As reported last week in this column, the NAC's CEO, Peter Herrndorf, and Andrew Shaw of the TSO have been hatching a scheme to create a summer home that would feature both their orchestras.
Everyone involved has been tight-lipped about potential sites, but insiders are abuzz about the defence department site, which has no official name and is known locally simply as "old army land."
For years much of it has been unused. What makes it precious is its unique combination of natural beauty and historic significance. It was here that American forces landed in 1813 on the way to what turned out to be the definitive battle of the War of 1812 at Fort George.
In fact, the property is divided into several sections with distinct identities. On the far west is a park called Niagara Shores, where you can commune with nature or walk your dog. This area, run by Parks Canada and open to the public, is likely to be kept as it is.
Adjacent to Niagara Shores on the park's east side is an old army training spot known officially as Area C. It borders on a magnificent forest featuring rare oaks, but it has been closed for years. More than half a century ago, this is where Canadian soldiers being prepared for the Korean War got their basic training.
To the east of Area C is a tract of land with three beautiful lagoons currently used for sewage by the municipal government of Niagara Region, which administers it.
This is probably the most desirable location for Tanglewood North, which would be anchored by a 2,000-seat covered bandshell but open on one side so that the music would flow beyond the protected seating area to reach others sitting on the lawns with blankets and folding chairs. Another site would be needed for sewage.
On the eastern edge of the army land is an abandoned rifle range, which has been closed and gated in recent times. Because it is close to a residential area near Shakespeare Ave., this section is regarded as less appropriate for a bandshell.
Before any commitment can be made about the future use of this land, it has to be decommissioned and cleaned up by the Department of National Defence and turned over to Parks Canada, according to Chris Zoetewey, technical services operator for the Niagara National Historic Sites division of Parks Canada.
"The next stage would be to do an assessment of what this land could be used for while respecting the guidelines and priorities of Parks Canada and preserving its heritage," he says.
"Ultimately that decision would be up to the federal minister of the environment."
Gary Burroughs, mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, says the idea of creating a music festival on this land is exciting, but he warns: "There are also major challenges, such as traffic. But I hope there's a decision soon about the music festival so we can deal with facts."
The NAC and TSO have hired a fundraiser to do a feasibility study and contracted KPMB to do rough architectural drawings.
But can they persuade the federal government to give them the land at a price they can afford?
I predict a positive outcome. It's too good an opportunity to pass up.
Memo to NAC conductor Pinchas Zukerman and TSO conductor Peter Oundjian: the opening concert in June 2012 should climax with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
