The following article was originally published in the Fall/Winter 1988 edition of the Hamilton Alumni Review following the dedication of the Hans H. Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts and the Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall.
Dedication of the Hans H. Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts
On Friday, September 23, 1988, Hamilton College dedicated its newly constructed Hans H. Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts. From the ribbon-cutting ceremony to the black-tie dedicatory concert, members of the Hamilton community gathered to pay tribute to the performing arts and welcome this marvelous new facility to the Hill.
Hans Schambach '43 and Keith Wellin '50 launched the dedicatory activities Friday afternoon as they cut away the buff-and-blue ribbon from the entrance to the Schambach Center. A convocation was then held in the Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall. As part of the ceremony, honorary degrees were conferred upon six persons in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the performing arts. The recipients of doctorates of music were Robert Freeman, director of the Eastman School of Music, who also addressed the convocation audience, and Pinchas Zukerman, renowned conductor and violinist. Three received doctorates of humane letters: Twyla Tharp, dancer and choreographer; August Wilson, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright; and Gwen Verdon, actress, dancer and choreographic teacher. Hans Schambach was given a standing ovation when he stepped up to accept an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He had provided the leadership in the planning and construction of the center that now bears his name.
Following the convocation, guests were invited to tour the building and explore the facilities. Located between McEwen and List buildings, the center houses 17 teaching studios and practice rooms, a fully equipped electronic music and recording studio, a music library, faculty offices and two rehearsal halls. The Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall, a 700-seat auditorium with acoustics to rival any concert hall of its size, is the center's showpiece.
Guests were able to experience the full beauty of Wellin Hall when the festivities continued during the evening's dedicatory concert. The gala affair began with the presentation of Alumni Medals to five graduates who have distinguished themselves in the performing arts. The recipients were Jay S. Reise '72, associate professor of music at the University of Pennsylvania, whose first opera was premiered in New York City the previous weekend; James H. Caraher, Jr. '73, director of the Syracuse Opera Theater; Sandra Faison K'72, an actress currently appearing on television in Days and Nights of Molly Dodd; Frederic W. Locke, Jr. '78, a dancer with the Eugene (Oregon) Ballet Theater; and Richard J. Nelson '72, whose Principia Scriptoriae was produced in 1986 by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, a rare honor for an American playwright.
Following remarks by Cynthia Wellin Plum, daughter of the late Carol Woodhouse Wellin, for whom the performance hall is named, and Hans Schambach, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra took to the stage. The ensemble, established in 1959 in Minnesota, is America's only full-time professional chamber orchestra. It is known nationally and internationally for its virtuosity and warm, intimate performances as well as for its exceptional leadership. Pinchas Zukerman, appointed musical director in 1980, led the orchestra into an era of prominence and success. Although he stepped down last year to resume his recital and concert career, Maestro Zukerman rejoined the orchestra to conduct it on this special occasion.
The concert opened with the Sinfonietta for Wind Quintet. The piece, commissioned for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, was composed by Jay Reise. Characteristic of his style, it combined traditional and contemporary musical devices, and its atonal foundation was accented by a spirited lyrical overplay. Next, the full orchestra performed Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto and Beethoven's Second Symphony. Pinchas Zukerman conducted both works, swaying energetically to the rhythm and emotion of the music. He also played the violin solo in the Mozart concerto. As the rich, smooth sound emanated from the stage, the magnificence of both the orchestra and the hall was immediately apparent.
As the evening ended, a new era for Hamilton's performing arts program began. At long last, the many music and dance ensembles have been brought together in one place — and what a place it is!
