The Eastman Theatre is the main building of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, located in downtown Rochester, New York.
The theater was established by industrialist George Eastman and opened on September 4, 1922, as a center for music, dance, and silent film, with orchestral and organ accompaniment.
The theatre is the primary hall for the Eastman School's larger ensembles, including its orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz ensembles, and chorale. It originally contained 3,094 seats, but has been substantially revised recently to become an approximately 2,400-seat concert hall with state-of-the-art acoustics optimized for symphonic, popular and chamber music performances.
The theater is the principal performance venue for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Eastman Opera Theatre presents fully staged operatic productions each spring.
A $5 million renovation of the theater building was completed in October 2004. The Eastman Kodak company, founded by George Eastman, donated $10 million for a subsequent renovation that was completed in October 2009; the building's concert hall was named "Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre", in recognition of the donation.
Famous quotes containing the words eastman and/or theatre:
“I would not have a woman go to Congress merely because she is a woman.”
—Crystal Eastman (1881–1928)
“To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air: the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner.”
—Eleonora Duse (1858–1924)