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Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center





The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a concert hall in the Arts District of Downtown Dallas , Texas designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei and opened in September of 1989 . It is situated in the Dallas Arts District, which it shares with the Dallas Museum Of Art , the Arts District Theatre and Ad-Libs Improvisational Comedy Theater . It is the current home of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra , Turtle Creek Chorale , the Dallas Wind Symphony, and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. Construction was funded in part by $10 million from Ross Perot . After construction the Meyerson is managed by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.

As with other Pei designs, the Meyerson is considered to be highly unorthodox yet visually stunning. The exterior of the large pavilion and lobby is circular and constructed of glass and metal supports to contrast with the solid geometric lines of the actual hall. The interior is in the standard shoebox style and seats 2,062. Acoustical canopies above the hall can be raised or lowered to reshape the auricular properties of the hall. The Meyerson also famously houses the Lay Family Concert Organ, the last Fisk Organ to be worked on by Charles Fisk of the C.B. Fisk company before his death.


TRIVIA


The center is named after Morton Meyerson , a close friend and business partner of Ross Perot in the creation of Electronic Data Systems .

The Greenhill School, located in Addison, Texas , celebrates its graduation annually at the symphony center.

The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center has:

· 260,000 square feet above ground space
· 225,000 square feet below ground space
· 35,130 cubic yards of concrete
· 30,000 square feet of Italian travertine marble
· 22,000 pieces of Indiana limestone
· 4,535 organ pipes
· 2,062 seats
· 918 square panels of African (Makore) cherrywood
· 216 square panels of American cherrywood
· 211 glass panels (no two alike) comprising the conoid windows
· 85 foot high ceiling in the concert hall
· 74 concrete reverberation chamber doors, each weighing as much as 2.5 tons
· 56 acoustical curtains
· 50 restrooms
· 4 private suites for meetings, banquets, and recitals


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