When violinist David Porter first walked out on stage at Abravanel Hall to audition for the Utah Symphony, his nerves almost got the better of him. The auditions were blind, and a screen hung between Porter and the audition committee. No one saw how the young musician stood stunned by the vision of the hall, with its glittering chandeliers and gold-gilded balconies.
“I remember starting my Mozart concerto, and it was just…a transcendent sound,” Porter recalls how the hall’s exquisite acoustics took him away from feeling nervous about what the committee thought of his playing. “It’s just such a special space,” says Porter, who is now a violinist with the Utah Symphony. “It feels like part of me. I know it’s just a building, but it feels exceptional. It’s a part of Salt Lake and a part of its history…The idea that that hall would be torn down still seems impossible to believe.”
When billionaire businessman Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz and chairman of Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), announced his plan for a Sports, Entertainment, Culture and Convention District in Downtown Salt Lake City, the plan for the development around the Delta Center seemed to put a new road right through the middle of Salt Palace, UMOCA and Abravanel Hall, which could be torn down and rebuilt as a result. The Musicians of the Utah Symphony, American Institute of Architects (Utah chapter), members of the public—even legendary film score composer John Williams (Star Wars, Jurassic Park) —voiced their desire to preserve the hall in its current location. An online petition to save the hall garnered 50,000 signatures. Their message: world-class symphony halls like Abravanel Hall are not replaceable.
“It’s important for us to remind people that building a great concert hall is very difficult. It’s more of an art than a science,” explains Porter. Much like how a great violin maker will create a new violin that sounds wonderful and when he replicates the process to make another violin, cannot reproduce the same quality of sound. “That’s our concern. That, in our haste to create this new development downtown, we will forget how great our hall is and how important it is to retain.”
24-karat gold leaf.
The Musicians of the Utah Symphony’s hope is to save the whole hall in its current form. They say that does not mean that the hall cannot be renovated or have additions like a lobby to face the other side of the street so it better aligns with the orientation of the SECC district plan.
“We’re not at all against changing things for the better, but we believe that the best and most affordable option for the county, too, is to keep the hall that we have.” Salt Lake County, which owns and operates Abravanel Hall, authored a report claiming that needed renovations would cost $200 million, a figure that symphony musicians and city planning commissioners have disputed as overinflated.
At the time of this writing, the future of the hall is still uncertain, but the tenor of some public officials has changed. According to a statement from Utah Symphony/Utah Opera (USUO), Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said at a May 20 USUO Board of Trustees meeting that the County’s “plan A” had included rebuilding Abravanel Hall.
A month later (after the public backlash), the County was instead exploring “plans B and C,” but USUO had not seen any site plans from the County.
The Salt Lake City Planning Commission unanimously voted against the requested zoning changes for the SECC, recommending to the City Council that “Abravanel Hall be maintained in its present form on its present site and with the possibility of funding through the district for a modest renovation.”
They also objected to the speed at which the plan is being pushed through. The Planning Commission has only an advisory role, however, and The City Council voted to move forward with a deal with SEG. The council had a deadline to decide whether to endorse participation in the agreement by Sept. 1, as required by the legislature. After that, the proposed agreement goes to the revitalization zone committee, which has 30 days to send the plan back to the council for a vote on final approval.
Ultimately, the fate of Abravanel Hall will likely come down to whatever Salt Lake County officials decide.
Porter and the other Musicians of the Utah Symphony are asking members of the public to reach out to their city and county council representatives and ask them
to preserve Abravanel Hall.
“I think we see ourselves as stewards of the hall,” says Porter, who has been heartened by the show of public support. “It’s just been incredible to see the support and the community springing into action to save it. I just. I hope it’s enough.”
