TROY — The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Corporation was awarded a $1.1 million grant from Empire State Development through the Regional Economic Development Council.
The Capital District was a top performer and had 120 economic development projects funded, for a total of $84.1 million out of $761 million from New York State.
The Music Hall will use this grant to help renovate the lower floors of the historic building in anticipation of housing their new collaboration with the Empire State Youth Orchestra. The Hall will expand its existing space to create shared administrative space for Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and Empire State Youth Orchestra staff, and expanded production areas. It will create new event and rehearsal space to support year-round programming and relocate the box office to an accessible on-street location.
“This award will help us realize the vision we have been working on for nearly five years.” said Music Hall Executive Director Jon Elbaum, “It will help insure the iconic Music Hall building remains the cultural keystone of Troy and the Capital Region.”
Rebecca Calos, Executive Director of the ESYO added, “We are so grateful to the Regional Economic Development Council, and we are thrilled by this level of support. We are eager to advance the project, and look forward to sharing the exciting details of our plans with the community.”
Completed in 1875, The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has hosted performances by legions of world-renowned artists, from legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Isaac Stern, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Vladimir Horowitz, to the best on today’s contemporary music scene, including Joshua Bell, Andrew Bird, Steve Martin, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, and many others. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Music Hall is celebrated worldwide for its superior acoustics and hosts over 150 events and activities annually, serving nearly 50,000 patrons. For more information, visit troymusichall.org.
The Empire State Youth Orchestra challenges and inspires young people to achieve excellence through music in a rigorous learning environment leading to high-level performance opportunities. More than 600 youth from the Capital District of New York and western New England are selected by audition each year for the ESYO program.
In 2015, ESYO launched ESYO CHIME (Creating Harmony, Inspiring Musical Excellence). ESYO CHIME seeks to expand access to music in underserved communities, and by doing so, empower children and their families to overcome the barriers to musical excellence caused by economic inequality. Founded in 1979, ESYO is a not-for-profit organization that has been recognized as a premier music education/performance program for youth and has received three ASCAP awards. For more information, visit esyo.org.
