From Concept to Fine Tuning
Koerner Hall At the
Royal Conservatory Comes to Life
By Paul Marotta
Perfect Bokeh Photography and Paul Marotta Communications Copyright (c) 2009 Paul Marotta All rights reserved.
Many hands touch a large building project over the course of its life. And the many hands that touch it range from architects and theatre planners and acousticians to institution presidents and CEOs and the skilled trades and craftsmen and women who actually build the facility. Most importantly, if such a building is to be a world-class concert hall, the performers should have the first and last musical say, so to speak.
Such has been the case with Toronto's latest addition to the city's burgeoning and extremely lively cultural climate, Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory on Bloor Street.
Koerner Hall is ideally situated next to the Royal Ontario Museum, several fine hotels and restaurants, and just near the bustling college campus of the University of Toronto. It represents the final phase of an extensive renovation that has provided The Royal Conservatory with facilities befitting its groundbreaking music and neural-cognitive programs. Under the reins of Executive Director Mervon Mehta, with his extensive experience programming world-class performing venues and artists, Koerner Hall will welcome internationally-renowned performers from across all genres.
And, though it may be too early to give the hall rave reviews, initial listens by both local critics and internationally renowned performers in acoustic tests have revealed a new hall with world-class capabilities, both in its theater design, architectural beauty, and its refined acoustics.
"An institution's president always needs to be sure he is bringing the appropriate resources to their college," said RCM President Dr. Peter Simon. "It has been my wish from the very beginning to bring a fine concert hall to this campus, and I have to say Koerner Hall has far exceeded my dream. The entire building team has done such a terrific job, and Mervon Mehta has brought the finishing touch we needed to help shape and define Koerner Hall, as well as fully integrate it into the campus as an educational and performance resource far beyond what we had hoped for these past several years."
"Toronto has long been one of my favorite cities, and to be able to return and see all of this take shape in the educational and cultural climate that is modern day Toronto is a dream I could never have imagined 10 or 15 years ago," said Mervon Mehta, Executive Director of Performing Arts. "I've programmed a lot of performances at some terrific venues, including Ravinia Festival in Chicago and the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, but to have the opportunity to program a hall such as Koerner and have it be a part of an institution with the world renown of the Royal Conservatory is literally a dream come true for me"
Architect Marianne McKenna has been involved with the project from day one, and theater designer Anne Minors has also poured her heart and soul into creating just the right functional environment for students and performers, along with acoustician Bob Essert, whose deep knowledge of both the science and art of acoustics have brought to life the vibrations that make such a concert hall virtually sing once it comes to life.
The other hands of course that have helped all this come to life are many, and include literally hundreds of skilled craftsmen and women and laborers. Here below is a sampling of what took place in one week at the TELUS Centre and inside Koerner Hall as the fine tuning took place with some of Toronto's finest musicians on stage, sounding the hall's first notes!
Anne Minors and musician discussing instrument placement on stage for optimal acoustics
Hard hats were still required on acoustic testing day!
Worker's tool kit, ready for departure
Mervon Mehta on stage
Above: Acoustician Bob Essert consults with stage hands
Right and above: Mervon Mehta and Bob Essert
RCM student practicing before exams
Architect Marianne McKenna and
Theater Designer Anne Minors
The day prior to acoustic testing, all the seats were still in their protective covering
Anne Minors, Malcolm, and Bob Essert
Musicians begin to take the stage on day one of acoustic testing
Every worker finalizing every detail of the new TELUS Centre was a fine craftsman in their own right
Piano tuner Damon Groves working prior to violist Stephen Dann's performance on stage in Koerner Hall
The view from the lighting console
Wall sections being moved into place
Handrails and glass being secured
All Photography by Paul Marotta
ATTN EDITORS: All photographs shown on this page are available as print quality jpegs for publication by contacting Paul Marotta directly.
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