12 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 4, 2000
FRIDAY Focus
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"Bernstein had been to Hill Auditorium once
before," University Musical Society President Ken Fis-
cher said, "When he left he told me this: 'I love this
town. 1 love the people. I love this hall. I'll be back.'
And he did. Bernstein came back."
Bernstein isn't the only performer who's fallen in
love with the University's Hill Auditorium. Since 1913,
Hill has been the temptation that's enticed the world's
greatest performers, orators and musicians to the Uni-
versity. I
In fact,
flutist Jamest
Galway called
Hill one of the
two greatest
halls he's per-
formed in -
the other being
the Sydney
Opera House.r
People from
every walk of
,life, including
former first
lady Eleanor
Roosevelt, poet
Nikki Giovan-
ni, comedian '.
Adam Sander
and composers
Serge Prokofi-
eff and Dergei Rachmaninoff, have
swept the stage.
"In general, Hill has an extraordinarily
distinctive history of performance
events, major ceremonies and speakers"
said Jeff Kuras, managing director of
University Productions. "All the great
classical artists have played that hall."
And Fischer contends all "the greatest
artists in the world want to come" to
Hill.
Acoustically sound
Hill offers a performing experience
unlike any other, said Jerry Blackstone,
who's been conducting the University
Men's Glee Club and other campus
vocal ensembles on Hill's stage for 12
years.
"It's acoustically wonderful," he said.
Detroit architect Albert Kahn, who
designed many Central Campus build-
ings, including Angell Hall, the Harlan
Hatcher Graduate Library and the Nat-
ural Science Building, is credited with
the creation of Hill's near-perfect
acoustics.
"Hill brings human quality to the .TOP: B.B. King
voice," Kuras said. "You can speak in a Nov.11, 1998
regular voice from center stage and be ABOVE: Weird
heard in the second balcony" accordion styl
"And beyond that," Kuras went on,
"people like the intimacy at Hill - the encounter they
have with the artist."
Kuras said the unique shape of the stage design adds
to Hill's appeal.
Men's Glee Club member Trip Finnegan, an LSA
senior, said he remembers his first performance on the
Hill stage more than three years ago.
"The place was just packed," Finnegan said. "It was
the most amazing thing to see all those people looking
back at you, expecting something, expecting this beau-
tiful sound."
Finnegan went on to say that the sound in Hill is so
perfect, he has heard a conversation in the corner of the
main floor while sitting in the third balcony.
date the elderly and disabled is a top priority. He also
said additional bathrooms are needed for the facility.
Kuras added that there are no smoke alarms at Hill
and the backstage area is "extremely poor."
"The star's dressing room is a dump," Finnegan said.
"It looks like a dorm rooni after a party. It's almost an
embarrassment to the University to put these famous,
important people in there."
Bollinger echoed these feelings.
"We want to move 'the
backstage facilities of our
visiting performers up to
the quality of the per-
formers themselves," he
said.
University students
have their own thoughts
on what could be
improved at Hill.
Corey Sandusky, an
LSA freshman, said he
would like to see larger
and more comfortable
" seats.
"And better parking in
the area too," Sandusky
added.
Although Hill is below
code in terms of Ameri-
can Disabilities Act com-
pliance and fire safety, it
continues to be a suitable
performance space.
"It's an amazing build-
ing that needs a lot of
work. The fact that it's so
old and still so amazing
- well, that's incredible,
to say the least," Finnegan
said.
Revam ing
a Hi
"Unfortunately the ren-
,. ovations are going to be
terribly expensive," Fisch-
er said.
Bollinger said S50 mil-
lion will be necessary for
the renovations to Hill,
which was named for for-
mer University Regent
Arthur Hill who, in 1910,
bequeathed to the Univer-
sity $200,000 from his
estate for the construction
of an auditorium.
"We just don't have that
HIll Auditorim money right now,
erforms at though," Bollinger said.
u Yankovic fills Hill with his "However, I'm prepared to
Sept. 26, 1996. commit S30 million to get
what we can done. Hope-
fully, we could earn more for these improvements
through fundraising."
Bollinger said there needs to be consensus among
the groups that use Hill, including the UMS, UProd
and other campus performance groups concerning the
planning of Hill's renovations.
"We're still in the planning process right now," he
said. "It may continue through the semester and per-
haps longer. With planning and execution, this may be
a three to four year project."
Fischer commended Bollinger for his handling of the
Hill renovation project.
"Everyone who cares about Hill is pleased with
Bollinger's support," he said. "He's really making an
effort to find out what's
best for everyone with
this"
Photos by SAM HOLLENSHEAD/ Daily
TOP: Rossen Milanov conducts the University Philharmonic Orchestra in Hill Auditorium Oct. 5,
1999. ABOVE: University alum Vincent Frappier paints Hill in October.
"I'm sure it's going to be difficult to work with,"
Blackstone said. It will be "a real challenge."
Fischer said losing Hill's stage during renovations
will make a large impact.
"When you lose a 4,163-person hall, it's going to be
huge," Fischer said.
Hill was renovated once before in the 1940s to meet
new fire codes and to provide larger seats to the audito-
rium's patrons.
But Kuras said it was unnecessary to shut down Hill
for any significant length of time.
Returning to 'U,
But Blackstone said he isn't worried about losing
any University performances. He said the Power Cen-
ter, Mendolssohn Theater and Rackham Auditorium
are alternative venues.
"All are unique in their own way. Hill is certainly the
best place to perform on campus. It makes the most
beautiful sound. But we'll do just fine in other the-
aters."
Fischer said the quality of outside performers won't
suffer either.
"This will give us an opportunity to be more creative
in our performances," he said. "Ten years ago, if we
were told Hill was going to shut down, we'd panic. But
UMS has already expanded to other venues. Right
know, only about a quarter of the 93 events we're spon-
soring this year are at Hill."
Kuras said the loss of Hill for so many months will
hurt University programming, but the temporary
inconveniences will be both necessary and worth-
while.
"We'll be doing a lot of rerouting and creative plan-
ning, which will be difficult," he said, "but when Hill
reopens, the public will see that it was worth waiting
for."
Blackstone said he agreed.
"This is a small price to pay for what we'll get in
return. We'll do whatever it takes to make Hill the best
it can be.
Kuras further pointed out that the renovations could
not only improve the building's condition, but also the
way in which it's run.
"With the addition of air conditioning, we could
extend programming at Hill through the summer," he
said, adding that Hill's performance season typically
runs from mid-September to mid-May.
Curtain call
When the renovations are complete, Fischer said the
University community will renew its appreciation for
all the voices, music, laughter and applause Hill has
brought to Ann Arbor.
"Hill is a real treasure; not just to the Unversity, but to
the United States and even the world," Fischer said. "I've
personally had some of the great moments of my life
there. A place like Hill.- people see the greatest of con-
cert guests there, it's where people graduate, it's where
people who've now been married 50 years first met."
"It kind of pulls at your heartstrings," he said.
Kuras described one of the most memorAble concerts
he saw at Hill.
"It was Jessye Norman. The last song she played
was a Strauss piece, with a full orchestra. After-
wards, the audience was so moved that there was
total silence for 15 to 20 seconds. Usually people
applaud before a piece is completely over, but not
then.
"After, of course, there was an immediate standing
ovation," Kuras said.
Hill Legends
In it's 90-year history, Hill
has hosted artists from every
genre of performance: Here is
a sample of Hill's legends who
have performed in the past
five years.
Oct. 8, 1994-- Indigo Girls
Nov. 16, 1994 - Phish
March 16, 1995 - Sarah McLachlan
Oct. 26, 1995 - Blues Traveler
March 20, 1996 - Film Director
Oliver Stone speaks on the media's
influence on society
Sept. 26, 1996 - Bruce Springsteen
Sept. 27, 1996 - Tori Amos
Nov. 21, 1996-Bob D 4an
Jan. 30, 1997 - Leonar.rimoy
talks about his life, his career and
being Jewish
Feb. 12, 1997 - Wynton Marsalis
Feb. 15, 1997 - Ray Charles
April 6, 1997 - Comedian Chris
Rock stops by to "Bring the Pain"
Sept. 21, 1997 - Cecilia Bartoli
Oct. 16, 1997 - Ani DiFranco
Oct. 23, 1997 - Counting Crows
Oct. 27, 1997 - Adam Sandler
speaks to a rowdy crowd and trash-
talks Ohio State University right
before the big game
March 21, 1998-- Comedian Norm
MacDonald fills Hill with laughter
April 22, 1998 - Harry Connick Jr.
April 28, 1998 -First Lady Hillary
Rodham Clinton speaks on the role of
the humanities in higher education
Oct. 2, 1998 - Michael Stipe and
Phillip Glass perform in honor of
Allen Ginsberg
Oct. 9, 1998 - St. Petersburg
Philharmonic
4.
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le 1.
Room for
improvements
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