EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
in downtown
Downtown Calgary
Downtown Calgary is a region of central Calgary, Alberta. It is not a single neighbourhood per se, but is actually a larger community containing three neighbourhoods and a number of districts....
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located in the Olympic Plaza
Olympic Plaza (Calgary)
The Olympic Plaza is an urban park and gathering place in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located around Macleod Trail and 7th Avenue S., it was created as the venue for the medal ceremonies at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games...
Cultural District.
History
The oldest part of the city block that houses the EPCOR CENTRE is the Burns BuildingBurns Building
The Burns Building is a historic six story building located in downtown Calgary, Alberta. It sits at 237-8th Ave. S.E. on the end of Stephen Avenue overlooking Olympic Plaza and City Hall.-History:...
, named after noted Calgarian Pat Burns. Construction began in April 1912 and was completed at a cost of $350,000. In the late 1970s, the demolition of the Burns Building became a possibility, because it was on land needed for the construction of the Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts. Demolition proposals were defeated by the Calgary City Council by one vote, and, along with the Calgary Public Building (built in 1930/31 at a cost of almost $2 million), the building was incorporated into the plan for the Arts Centre. In 1979, the Public Building was bought by the City of Calgary for $3.8 million and its upper floors are still occupied by City of Calgary offices.
The newly-created Centre was officially opened on 14 September 1985 by the then Premier of Alberta
Premier of Alberta
The Premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. The current Premier of Alberta is Alison Redford. She became Premier by winning the Progressive Conservative leadership elections on...
Peter Lougheed
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....
. After a donation by EPCOR
EPCOR
EPCOR Utilities Inc., formerly known as Aqualta and Eltec, is a utility company based in Edmonton, Alberta, which manages numerous municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities throughout Alberta and British Columbia...
, an Edmonton, Alberta-based utilities company, the name was changed to the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts on 1 May 2001.
Occupying a full city block, EPCOR CENTRE is a six level complex measuring over 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) . It is one of the three largest arts centres in Canada. In addition to a variety of performance spaces, EPCOR CENTRE also houses rehearsal halls, theatre workshops, offices, meeting rooms, a café, radio station, salon spa and gift store, with art works from community groups and galleries displayed throughout.
Amenities offered
Almost 400,000 people attend 1800-plus performances and events each year at the EPCOR CENTRE. Such events include live theatre, dance, spoken word and readings, children's events, experimental theatre, art exhibits, public forums, weddings, training sessions, meetings, arts education activities, sporting events and competition, award ceremonies and concerts ranging from symphonic music to jazz, folk, blues, world and rock.Performance and other facilities
- Jack Singer Concert Hall, with 1,800 seats, is the largest venue in the building. It is said to be a synthesis of some of the world's finest concert halls (the Musikverein, ViennaMusikverein, ViennaWiener Musikverein, , commonly shortened to The Musikverein, has a twofold meaning: it is the name of a famous Vienna concert hall, as well as the short name for the music society, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde [Society of Music Friends], that owns the building.This building is located on...
, the Symphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
, and the ConcertgebouwConcertgebouwThe Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
). Suspended above the stage is a 185,000-pound laminated spruceSpruceA spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
-wood acoustical canopy, which can be raised or lowered to tune the hall according to the specific needs of each performer. Named for Jack Singer, the Concert Hall is the permanent home of the Calgary Philharmonic OrchestraCalgary Philharmonic OrchestraThe Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra, based in Calgary, Alberta. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts...
, which employs 65 full-time musicians, and the 6,040-pipe Carthy Organ.
- Max Bell Theatre is home to Theatre CalgaryTheatre CalgaryTheatre Calgary, theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, established as a professional company in 1968.-History:The origin of the company dates back to the 1940s, when students of Betty Mitchell, a drama teacher at Calgary's Western Canada High School, established an amateur group known as "Workshop...
.
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- Martha Cohen Theatre is home to Alberta Theatre ProjectsAlberta Theatre ProjectsAlberta Theatre Projects is a Canadian theatre production company, founded in 1972, based at the Martha Cohen Theatre in Calgary, Alberta....
(ATP). - Big Secret Theatre is home to One Yellow RabbitOne Yellow RabbitOne Yellow Rabbit is an adult-oriented contemporary theatre company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.One Yellow Rabbit began as a small troupe in 1982 and has grown into one of Canada's best-known theatrical voices at home and abroad. Blending elements such as drama, dance, poetry and monologue,...
. - Engineered Air Theatre is used for documentary films, plays, weddings, receptions, and galas. Can seat up to 185 theatre-style.
- Motel is a black box, multi-purpose venue used for plays, experimental theatre and performance art.
- Martha Cohen Theatre is home to Alberta Theatre Projects