The Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center is part of

Mercyhurst University (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administrat ...

Quick Facts

*The Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center is located at

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. *It holds 792 along with the box seats which hold 24, totaling 816 seats. *The Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center was the first theater in the U.S. to use geothermal energy to heat and cool its facility. *The chandeliers that hang over the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

boxes are exactly the same chandeliers that hang in the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC. They were made in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from pure

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

History

The Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center opened in February 1996. The first concert featured pianist

André Watts André Watts (born June 20, 1946) is an American classical pianist and professor at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University. In 2020, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Life and early performances Born in Nuremberg ...

. During a blizzard, Watts took the stage to perform in front of nearly 800 people on a piano that was shipped to them from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. In the middle of his performance, Watts stood up and the audience stared in confusion as the piano continued to play. Turns out the piano keys were frozen and an untuned piano from backstage was wheeled out for him to play. After that performance Watts swore that he would never again agree to play a grand opening because of his self-proclaimed "curse." Apparently Watts opened two other facilities that year and a fire alarm and sprinklers interrupted his performances. When the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center opened in 1996, the center had two full-time and two part-time staff members. In its infancy, the center brought in nearly 4,000 people a year and offered between six and seven programs, which consisted of the finest in Classical music featuring artists such as

Kathleen Battle Kathleen Deanna Battle (born August 13, 1948) is an American operatic soprano known for her distinctive vocal range and tone. Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances ...

and the

Juilliard String Quartet The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. It has received numerous ...

. Fourteen years later, the center has a staff of six full-time employees and offers over a hundred events each year featuring jazz, dance, classical, contemporary and world music. Serving as the only active movie house in the city of Erie, the center is also home to the Guelcher Film Series, The Metropolitan Opera: HD Live series and the Live from NY's 92nd Street Y broadcast lecture series. Mercyhurst's D'Angelo Arts Complex in Zurn Hall exceeds . The arts complex also includes the black-box Taylor Little Theatre, the Walker Recital Hall, and the recently expanded Cummings Art Gallery. Adjacent to the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center are the department of dance with two dance studios called danceSpace, and the D'Angelo department of music.

Facilities

* Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center ** seats 792, along with 24 box seats * Walker Recital Hall ** seats 250 ** Walker Recital Hall opened on October 27, 2002 with a two-hour recital featuring pianist,

Lorin Hollander Lorin Hollander (born July 19, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist. He has performed with virtually all of the major symphony orchestras in the United States and many around the world. A ''New York Times'' critic called him in 1964 "the ...

for guests which included Dr. Barrett and Catherine Walker and their family. * Taylor Little Theatre ** seats 251 ** Named in honor of Sister M. Eustace Taylor, in 1994, for her lifelong devotion to Mercyhurst College and for her love of the humanities as a true renaissance woman * Cummings Art Gallery ** 150 person standing capacity ** Named after Sister Angelica Cummings, founder of the Mercyhurst Art department and opened in January 1984

Staff

The Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center has seven full-time employees PAC *Director: Michael Fuhrman *Assistant Director: Bruce Parkhurst *Box Office Manager: Annette Gardner *Assistant Marketing Manager: Michelle Ellia *Production Manager: Greg Clepper *Production Technician: Randy Stankey Cummings Art Gallery *Gallery Director: Robert Hagle

2008-2009 Season

*Guelcher Film Series *Live from NY's 92nd Street Y broadcast series *MetropolitanOpera: HD Live series *The Jazz Mandolin Project * Bad Boys Of Dance *Igudesman & Joo * Robin Mckelle * Leahy: A Celtic Christmas * CityMusic Cleveland * Quartet New Generation * Ballet Hispanico * The Dirty Dozen Brass Band & Trombone Shorty

Notable performances

The center has hosted several Grammy Award-winning artists such as

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) (born 1960), American musician and composer * Maria Schneider (ca ...

, Paquito D’Rivera and

Eric Bibb Eric Charles Bibb (born August 16, 1951) is a Grammy-nominated American-born blues singer and songwriter. Biography Bibb's father, Leon, was a musical theatre singer, who made a name for himself as part of the 1960s New York folk scene; his u ...

. World-renowned dance troupes such as the

Paul Taylor Dance Company Paul Taylor Dance Company, is a modern dance company, formed by dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor (1930—2018). The modern dance company is based in New York, New York and was founded in 1954. Taylor originally performed in the companies of ...

and

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a ho ...

have graced the stage of the D’Angelo Center, along with world music artists such as

Pink Martini Pink Martini is an American band that was founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as classical, latin, traditional pop, and jazz. The co-lead v ...

and

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, '' Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has ...

. The most successful show and quite possibly the most well known in the center's history is the Japanese drummers, known as

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

. Yamato has visited Erie four times over the last seven years and has performed five sold-out performances to over 5,000 people. Other notable performances include those that comprise the center's educational outreach program. Through the program, the D’Angelo Center has had the opportunity to expose the young people in the area to the arts. Since the start of the program the center has been able to provide over 6,300 students with the opportunity to see performances such as the African Drummers,

Ba Cissoko Ba Cissoko is a Guinean world music band featuring five members, two of whom play the traditional Kora harp. Two band members play percussion instruments and one plays bass. The sound of the band has been described as "West Africa meets Jimi He ...

, Latin dance troupe

Ballet Hispanico Ballet Hispánico is an American dance company based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded by the Puerto Rican-Mexican-American dancer and choreographer Tina Ramirez in 1970 and presents dances reflecting the experience of Hispanic and Latino ...

and Yamato.

References

* http://www.mercyhurst.edu
The PAC is back -- and celebrating 15 years of arts and entertainmentMercyhurst reorganizing arts center, looking for new directorPAC Celebrates 15th Anniversary

External links

*
Mercyhurst University
- official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Mary D'angelo Performing Arts Center Performing arts centers in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Erie, Pennsylvania Theatres in Pennsylvania Art museums and galleries in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1996 1996 establishments in Pennsylvania Mercyhurst University Tourist attractions in Erie, Pennsylvania