Krannert Center For The Performing Arts - Performance Facilities

Performance Facilities

• Foellinger Great Hall, with 2,078 seats, is the largest of the venues at the Center and is known for its acoustics; it attracts world famous artists and ensembles to perform every year. Some noteworthy orchestras like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony have used the hall for recordings. The School of Music at the University of Illinois hosts many performances at this venue by students, faculty, the Sinfonia da Camera and the University of Illinois Wind Symphony. It is the main venue for the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, the Professional Orchestra in Residence at the Krannert Center and the Sinfonia da Camera conducted by Ian Hobson.

Architecture of the Great Hall:

Dr. Cyril Harris, a noted acoustician and Emeritus Professor of Architecture at Columbia University designed the interior of the Foellinger Great Hall. His past projects include the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington and Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

The design of the hall is almost perfectly symmetrical. There are no parallel surfaces in the room, instead all the surfaces are angled to ensure that the sound reflects back to the audience. This accounts for much of the hall's acoustic superiority. No amplification is necessary for instrumental music.

• Tryon Festival Theatre, with 974 seats on two levels, was primarily intended for operas and the acoustics are designed to favor vocal performances. It also hosts performances of ballet, dances, musicals and plays. This theater is equipped with a Sennheiser Audio System, computerized lighting control, sound reinforcement and recording capability. It has become a tradition for the local Champaign-Urbana Ballet and the Sinfonia da Camera to perform The Nutcracker in the Festival theatre every December. A unique feature of the theatre, designed to support the plays and musicals, is that a trap door may be placed almost anywhere on stage with removable 4'x 8' panels.

• Colwell Playhouse, with 674 seats, mainly hosts plays and dance performances and is used mainly by the Departments of Theatre and Dance and also by touring productions. Like the Festival theatre, it is equipped with a Sennheiser Audio System, a computerized lighting system, sound reinforcement and recording capability. The acoustics in this venue are designed to specifically support speech performances. The walls are shaped to reflect voices from the stage towards the audience while the back walls are echo-proof.

• Studio Theatre, a small theatre with 200 seats, is a black box theatre designed to support experimental performances. It was intended as an experimental workspace for students and performers and hence has a smaller, less intimidating seating capacity. Its audio and lighting capabilities are similar to the other venues with a computerized lighting system and sound reinforcement.

• Amphitheatre, this theater is located on the outside of the Krannert Center and is a common spot for students to relax, study, and socialize during the warmer months. It is a popular on-campus first date destination and was voted "Best Spot to Share A First Kiss" by the student population in 2006. It is also the location of On The Rocks a set of student written, produced, and directed one-act plays put on by the Krannert Center Student Association in the spring.