When renowned pianist and author Charles Rosen took to the stage this weekend at the Three Stages Performing Arts complex in Folsom, it elegantly capped the first season of the region’s newest venue for classical music.
That complex sits like a sleek beacon on the young campus of Folsom Lake College. The crown jewel of this $49.4 million, three-theater complex is its 850-seat Stage One Theater.
To date, the venue has hosted the Sacramento Philharmonic and Sacramento Ballet, as well as national touring companies like the Joffrey Ballet.
The complex is now the home base for the Classical Masters music festival, of which Rosen is the star performer.
The festival, the brainchild of 15-year-old Austin Lee and cofounded with pianist Tien Hsieh, runs for three days. It includes Rosen in recital on Saturday evening, with Rosen scheduled to give a talk, titled “My Life at the Piano,” on Sunday.
Last Friday night, the festival offered its inaugural concert with an evening of pianists in recital, including Richard Dowling and Daniel Alfred Wachs. Master classes plus a piano competition for ages 4 through 18 round out the scope of the festival.
“We’re going to try and make this an annual festival,” said Lee, a resident of nearby Granite Bay.
Test Drive Garners Praise
So far the acoustics there have garnered positive reviews, including a nod from Sacramento Philharmonic conductor Michael Morgan, who has conducted in the hall twice.
“It’s a good hall,” said conductor Michael Morgan. “There is no way for us not to sound good in that space.”
“It’s a good hall. Its size is such that you cannot go wrong there,” said Morgan. “There is no way for us not to sound good in that space.”
Construction for the 80,000-square-foot center began in August 2008 and was completed last October. The design team that worked on the performance complex owns a stellar pedigree. The acoustics were designed by acoustician Mark Rothermel, of the Southern California firm Rothermel & Associates. Rothermel was involved with the acoustic design team that shaped the highly regarded acoustics at the Mondavi Center for the Arts at UC Davis.
The theater design was done by Adam Shalleck, of the Shalleck Collaborative, a firm that did the design for Mondavi, as well as the San Francisco Conservatory and the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University.
Thus far, the complex has tallied $1 million in ticket sales and attendance of over 35,000 since the theater offered the national touring company of A Chorus Line as its opener Feb. 11, said Three Stages Executive Director David Pier.
“I think we have tremendous momentum coming out of the launch and the ‘spring sampler’ season we’re just now completing,” Pier said. “We’ve also been successful in attracting and presenting a high level of artistry on the stages, and the result is that folks are learning that they can expect to see quality performances whenever they visit the center.”
This weekend’s music festival is integral to that goal, Pier said. Already, dates for the piano festival are inked on the center’s presenting calendar for 2012.
“In addition to celebrating the artistry of the performers, and classical music in general, the Festival is structured to encourage a sense of community among participants — this is key, and fits perfectly with Three Stages’ larger objective of building community and excitement around the arts.”
Producers Lining Up
For arts groups in the Sacramento region, who have few options for top-flight acoustics and reasonably sized halls, the three performances spaces are a welcome addition.
“For us it’s an incredible option” said Rod Gideons, general director of the Sacramento Opera.
Currently, the opera company performs in Sacramento’s Community Center Theater. That multipurpose facility, now 35 years old, typically seats almost 2,300 for opera performances. The cavernous hall has proved acoustically challenging for singers to perform in, and a daunting task to fill with patrons. But the 850-seat Stage One Theater, in particular, seems a perfect size for the opera company, Gideons said.
“It’s very attractive. It’s an ideal facility for bel canto repertoire, and certainly for chamber opera.” And the more intimate 200-seat City Studio Theater offers tantalizing options, as well, said Gideons. “One of the things we’re thinking about is putting on a Saturday opera series for families there.”
The center, like most performing arts centers, faces its own challenges in a tough economic climate. The center was financed with $27.6 million in bonds approved by voters in the Los Rios Community College District, which oversees Folsom Lake College. A combination of state facilities money and donations from Bank of America and Wells Fargo made the center possible.
Fund-raising Challenges Loom
But it remains to be seen what will happen to Three Stages’ funding stream, with looming budget cuts facing the state’s colleges and universities.
“We have our first full inaugural season ahead of us, which we will be announcing in July,” said Pier. “The biggest challenge ahead is to ramp up annual giving and sponsorships to support ongoing operations and programming. Ticket sales alone will not be sufficient to allow the center to reach its full potential.”
Luckily, the Three Stages complex sits in the middle of one of the more affluent areas of the Sacramento region. The median household income in Folsom was tallied at $92,642 by the U.S. Census in 2009. And Pier believes that many people in the area have a strong or growing appetite for classical music. And he is not alone. Organizations like the Folsom Lake Symphony, the Sacramento Guitar Society, and the Classical Master music festival have pegged their futures to the Three Stages.
“I think it’s important for the quality of these venues to be recognized in the larger arts ecosystem of Northern California,” Pier said. “People should know that when they have an opportunity to attend a concert at Three Stages, they’re in for a real treat. Artists also need to know that this is a venue in which they can realize their artistic visions.”
Conductor Morgan, who also conducts the Oakland East Bay Symphony, agrees. He sees the venue as a run-out option for Bay Area groups that want to build a fan base in the Central Valley.
“I would think that for chamber music or smaller concerts the venue would be fine for Bay Area groups to perform in. It’s a great hall for that.”