The DiMenna Center for Classical Music: Cary Hall

Description

Orchestra of St. Luke’s built The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in 2011 as New York City’s only acoustically-optimized rehearsal and recording space dedicated to classical music. It is an unparalleled resource serving the entire musical community—from soloists to symphony orchestras—through affordable, state-of-the-art facilities. The DiMenna Center has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors, including more than 400 ensembles and artists such as Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Valery Gergiev, James Taylor, and Sting. Committed to serving the musical community and its Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, The DiMenna Center hosts hundreds of neighbors, families, and school children each year for free community events. The concept for The DiMenna Center for Classical Music began in 2004, when Orchestra of St. Luke’s conducted a study and found that New York City’s classical music community lacked access to first-rate, affordable rehearsal and recording space. In 2006, OSL launched a capital campaign, Fund for the Future, to support the purchase and renovation of a space that could serve as OSL’s home and an invaluable resource for all of the city’s classical musicians. In November 2008, OSL purchased a 20,000+ square-foot space in Midtown Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, in a building shared with the Baryshnikov Arts Center. An exceptional project leadership team—including H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, A’kustiks, and B