Spotlight on our Underwriters - Zankel Music Center

Live Video

Now on Air

Up Next

The Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College
A new cultural resource for the region
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
www.skidmore.edu/zankel

With approximately 54,000 square feet of teaching, practice, performance, and administrative space, Skidmore College's new Arthur Zankel Music Center has become not only the hub of musical activity on campus but also a cultural resource for the community of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and the entire region.

The Zankel Music Center has enabled Skidmore to refine and expand its world-class programming. Since opening its doors in February 2010, the Center has hosted a wide range of performers, including Ensemble ACJW of the Carnegie Hall Premieres series, singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie, the Ying Quartet, the Klezmatics, and pianist Arnaldo Cohen. Jazz performances at the Zankel have included the duo of Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau, Stefon Harris with Blackout, and the piano duo of Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes.

The Center is planning an exciting lineup for the coming academic year. For a schedule of events and more information, visit www.skidmore.edu/zankel.

Aligned along a north-south axis, the Zankel Center is divided into two separate spheres of activity, with a glass atrium in the center that serves as a crossroads and gathering space. To the south is the performance sphere, featuring the 600-seat, acoustically tuned Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall. Designed to accommodate both a full orchestra and chorus, its stage is backed by a three-story-high glass wall overlooking nearby Haupt Pond.

To the north is the instructional sphere, which includes faculty offices, practice rooms, the 80-seat Elisabeth Luce Moore Hall for lectures and recitals, electronic music laboratory, piano lab, and classrooms. This wing is used virtually around the clock to accommodate the practice schedule and creative needs of students during evening and night hours, and teaching needs during the day.

Designed by the Philadelphia architectural firms of EwingCole and BelsonDesignArchitects, the Center reflects Skidmore's commitment to the arts and to creative thinking. Construction of the project has been handled by MLB Construction Services

Located on the main drive near the front entrance of the College, the Zankel Center serves as a gateway building for the campus. The Zankel creates an arts cluster with the nearby Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theater, the Marjorie Saisselin Art Building, and the original Therese W. Filene Music Building.

The Center serves as a complement to the other cultural presenters in the region, including the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, SaratogaArtsFest, and Lake George Opera at Saratoga. It is Skidmore's expectation that the Center will provide the impetus for stronger collaborations with these and other arts groups in the area.

The building is named in honor of the late philanthropist and financier Arthur Zankel, a longtime Skidmore trustee, friend, and benefactor whose bequest to the College made the Center possible.