New venue

Our wonderful symphony (celebrating its 75th anniversary this year) has a new home and it. is. fabulous.

I've been to 3 of the 7 concerts in my symphony package so far this year, and I think I've got enough pictures of the Tobin Center to give you some idea of how gorgeous and interesting a place it is. (As you can tell from the link, it actually offers multiple venues for all kinds of entertainments, but all I've seen is the main concert hall. So far.)

Above is a shot from the end of my first concert, with the soloists, orchestra, and Mastersingers taking a bow after performing Mahler's 2nd Symphony.

Of course, my photos can't capture the sounds of the performances, but take my word for it, the kids sound wonderful. As cool and funky as their previous home base is (the Majestic Theatre, a few blocks away), the acoustics at the Tobin are on a whole different level.

before a performance

It's not just my perception, either. My beautiful and super-talented English horn Principal niece tells me that the musicians also sing the new hall's praises.

The building, the extensively remodeled old Municipal Auditorium (where our kids had their high school graduations!), is very interesting as well as sounding good. (You can see a couple of pictures of it during construction here.)

Here's a look down at the mezzanine snack bar from the stairs to the balcony...

Lots of curves and crannies and odd little touches. Which are interesting, for sure, but which also make finding your way about, especially upstairs where my seat is, a bit challenging. Just allow yourself a little extra time to find your seat, though, and you'll enjoy the journey.

Other amenities are first-rate, too, from the much more comfortable seats, the increased aisle room, and the ladies loo...

...quite lovely and large. Very welcome during busy intermission times. My only complaint is that (like the doors in the convention center facility) it's impossible to tell if a stall is occupied or not! Nice, clean lines and flush fits [so to speak] are visually appealing, but I'd rather have the doors hanging a bit ajar when not in use.

However, this is a miniscule design quibble. I love the place! This shot of the seating area, from my lower balcony level (I opted for a one-level upgrade in my tickets this year and really like my seat) gives some idea of the gorgeousness of the place:

This was taken during an intermission. Here's a detail when the lights are down of the striking banners (is this the right word for this design feature?) demarcating the seating levels...

Unfortunately my camera doesn't do low light very well, so I don't have good shots of the buildings exterior. Perhaps I can get Henry to go to a concert later in the season and if he takes some pictures with his super-camera, I'll be able to show it off better for you.

Unlike the developers of London's new Wembley Stadium, San Antonio retained the Auditorium's "twin towers" and the whole front facade. As you can see in the photos in my earlier post, everything behind that was demolished, but I think the old facade and the 21st-century addition make a nice statement about how our city likes to do historic preservation.

In this shot from further away, at the end of Veterans Memorial Park (that's our Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the foreground; the attractive building on the left is the old SW Bell Building; both it and the Auditorium were built in the 1920's). 

I'm looking forward to many, many more great concert experiences in this beautiful building. As I get more and better photos for you, I'll tell you more about it.