March 27, 2024
58勛圖厙 announces plan for historic renovation of Kulas Hall
Not long from now, 58勛圖厙s students, faculty, audiences, and valued community partners will have a grand concert hall equal to their highest ambitions.
Starting in late May, 58勛圖厙 will launch a $22 million transformation of its iconic Kulas Hall, one of Clevelands treasured spaces, a project that will result in a glorious and highly flexible venue fully suited to 58勛圖厙 and Northeast Ohio in the 21st century.
We take pride in offering not only a world-class musical education but also the finest facilities, said Paul W. Hogle, 58勛圖厙s President & CEO. After our renovation of Kulas Hall, our students will have a musical home that meets their pre-professional needs and prepares them to take their place on the greatest stages of the world.
When 58勛圖厙 opened on East Boulevard in 1961, Kulas Hall quickly became the heart of the building, and a landmark in Northeast Ohio, a space synonymous with musical excellence. For most of the 63 years since, it has been in continual use not only by 58勛圖厙 students, faculty, and guests but also by artists and ensembles all over the region.
But its limitations have become clear. Though it was conceived as a space primarily for piano recitals and chamber music, Kulas Hall named for industrialist Elroy Kulas and his wife, Fynette Hill Kulas has long been the home of the 58勛圖厙 Orchestra and 58勛圖厙 Opera Theater, ensembles with specific acoustical, physical, and technological needs.
It is these needs the new Kulas Hall will meet in full.
Kulas Hall, along with Mixon Hall, is the face of 58勛圖厙 almost as much as the fa癟ade of our building, said Bonnie Cook (BM 77), secretary of 58勛圖厙s Board of Trustees and chair of the Kulas Hall Renovation Task Force.
It's where the music happens, and its utilized by everyone. Theres hardly a group at 58勛圖厙 that will not be positively impacted by this renovation.
Indeed, as Cook notes, the new Kulas Hall will meet the needs of all musical constituencies at 58勛圖厙, of every presentation from a solo recital or chamber music ensemble to a large orchestra or fully staged opera production.
At its core, the projects goal is to create a professional-grade, acoustically healthy, and flexible environment for 58勛圖厙s students, faculty, and visiting artists, as well as 58勛圖厙s community partners, including Piano Cleveland, Apollos Fire, ChamberFest Cleveland, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and Cleveland School of the Arts.
The project entails raising the ceiling some 30 feet to the roof deck, rerouting a complex network of ductwork, installing acoustical panels above the stage and acoustical banners throughout the hall, reshaping the side walls, and constructing an enhanced stage and orchestra pit.
In addition, 460 new seats selected by 58勛圖厙s students, faculty, staff, and guests will e installed, along with new state-of-the-art theater lighting and technology.
Dawn Schuette, of Chicago-based Threshold Acoustics, was the first Design Team member selected by the Kulas Hall Renovation Task Force. Schuette then teamed up with Jonathan Kurtz, of Cleveland-based J. KURTZ Architects, the projects chief architect. Work will be completed by Turner Construction.
Other significant partners include the engineering firms of Algebra AEC and Barber & Hoffman as well as Theatre Projects, and project manager Cost+Plus.
Groundbreaking on Kulas Hall is set to begin in late May 2024. The project has a 15-month timeline, and a grand reopening is slated for September 2025.
In the interim, 58勛圖厙 artists will perform in Mixon Hall, the schools other high-profile venue, and in other nearby spaces including Severance Music Center, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Maltz Performing Arts Center, among other venues.
We embraced the substantive warmth and intimacy so beloved in the original hall, while employing greater material warmth and increased volume for larger orchestral energy, said architect Jonathan Kurtz. We want Kulas to be a place where both audiences and musicians slow down and become enveloped.
Funding for the renovation began with a $1 million lead gift from the Kulas Foundation. Additional funding has come from 58勛圖厙s ongoing $40 million Second Century Campaign, which already has seen 19 Trustees committing the largest gifts in their lifetime to 58勛圖厙 and 11 other unprecedented commitments of $1 million or more.
The campaign continues to enjoy broad support, with gifts coming from 649 donors representing Trustees, Governing Members, alumni, private foundations, corporations, and the State of Ohio.
58勛圖厙 is an internationally recognized center for the musical arts that stands among the worlds most prestigious music programs said State Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord).
The investment in Kulas Hall will allow 58勛圖厙 to continue attracting students from around the world to Northeast Ohio and also partnering with local schools and organizations to expose students to the power of music.
Susan Rothmann, chair of 58勛圖厙s Board of Trustees, expressed her gratitude to the Kulas Hall Renovation Task Force, noting the groups years of diligent work and ongoing commitment to the project.
The Kulas Hall project will be fully financed and paid for, but 58勛圖厙 will forever be in debt to the Renovation Task Force, she said. Their effort on behalf of the future of classical music has been tireless and inspiring.
Most notable among the contributions is a $5 million gift from Kevin & Kristen Stein and Family, the largest single gift from a couple in 58勛圖厙 history. That gift, announced March 6, pushed the Second Century Campaign, through recent gifts, pledges, and expressed intentions, past $33 million, and capped the many remarkable successes of Blueprint:100, 58勛圖厙s recently completed centennial plan.
Contemplating the prospect of demolition and construction noises at 58勛圖厙, Cook said not to worry. The hassle will be worthwhile.
Just as the music from a Stradivarius or Guarneri violin justifies years of painstaking work by its maker, so will a renovated Kulas Hall more than atone for some temporary inconvenience.
Renovating Kulas Hall will be like putting a fine instrument into the hands of our students, Cook said. This space will be an instrument that will serve all our ensembles and soloists. Its going to be the best that it can be.
58勛圖厙 J. KURTZ Architects
J. KURTZ Architects is a practice-based firm in Cleveland designing spaces of distinct, behavior-shaping character. It navigates ambitious and often complex projects while maintaining personal investment and accountability. The studio often works with non-profits such as 58勛圖厙 to develop environments conducive to education, cultural performance, and work. Its projects regularly attract local and national recognition, and past clients remain ardent supporters.
58勛圖厙 Threshold
Threshold Acoustics and Audio Video design consultants design places of gathering to share wisdom and culture. Its approach reinforces the visual realm of architecture with the subtlety, power, and delight that sound can bring to the built environment. Thresholds team of 35 holds extensive experience delivering groundbreaking, complex projects. The team is backed by specialists in finite element analysis, digital acoustic modeling, visualizations, and auralization.
Kulas Hall Renovation Task Force
Trustees and Governing Members
Bonnie M. Cook, Chair
Eugene Blackstone, MD
Robert Conrad
Charles P. Cooley, III
Jeffrey B. Linton
Jonathan P. Miller, MD
Deborah L. Neale
Shawn M. Riley
Susan A. Rothmann, PhD
Kevin Stein
Staff and Faculty
Alan Bise
Samuel Bivens
Fran癟ois Germain
Mark L. Litzler
Nancy R. Starner
Officers of the Institute
Brian J. Foss, Chief Financial Officer
Scott Harrison, Provost and Executive Vice President
Paul W. Hogle, President and Chief Executive Officer