The concert hall opened in 2005 and was built on the 11-acre site of the Strathmore Mansion, a 19th-century home which had been owned by Montgomery County since 1981. For more than two decades, the Mansion at Strathmore has provided intimate artistic programs with its 100-seat Dorothy M. And Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room, the Gudelsky Gallery Suite exhibition spaces, the outdoor Gudelsky Concert Pavilion, and outdoor Sculpture Gardens.

Through an expansive partnership with Montgomery County’s schools, and an investment in free public arts programs throughout the community, Bloom helps Strathmore reach over 23,000 neighbors annually. The southern parts of Strathmore once attempted to incorporate as the Incorporated Village of Strathmore – but the proposal was voted down in a referendum vote. Because of the outcome of the referendum, all of Strathmore remains part of the unincorporated Manhasset CDP to this day. A flagship program of Strathmore’s Institute for Artistic and Professional Development, the Artist in Residence (AIR) program4 was created more than a decade ago to support artists as they transition to professional careers. Strathmore Artists in Residence benefit from the support of mentor musicians, participate in professional development seminars, and are offered extensive performance opportunities throughout the 10-month program. Parking at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro garage (off of Tuckerman Lane) is free for ticketed events in the Music Center’s Concert Hall.

1. The hallmark of the arts center is the Music Center at Strathmore, a 2,000-seat concert hall that brings world-class performances by major national artists including folk, blues, pop, jazz, show tunes, and classical music.
2. The property features a 250-seat music venue offering live performances including jazz, rock, folk, indie, and more.
3. Strathmore, which began as a turn-of-the-century mansion featuring small chamber performances and art exhibitions in 1983, developed its plans for the Music Center over 20 years ago.
4. Because of the outcome of the referendum, all of Strathmore remains part of the unincorporated Manhasset CDP to this day.

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Mr. Corby died in 1926 after acquiring nearly 400 acres (1.6 km2) of surrounding land and maintaining a fully operational dairy farm and a private golf course. With the death of Mrs. Corby in 1941, the home was purchased by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1943 and became known as St. Angela Hall, serving as a convent and school. Strathmore, which began as a turn-of-the-century mansion featuring small chamber performances and art exhibitions in 1983, developed its plans for the Music Center over 20 years ago. In 1985, Strathmore’s Board of Directors and President and CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl began discussions about the need for a larger educational and performance space. In 1996, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of former president John Gidwitz, expressed interest in creating a second home in Montgomery County, and joined Strathmore as a founding partner of the Music Center at Strathmore. The Education Center, located at the opposite end of the building, features four expansive rehearsal spaces, including a dance studio with a sprung floor and two rehearsal rooms with 40-foot (12 m) high ceilings.

Performance and other facilities

This wing of the building also features a children’s music classroom, a small two-story rehearsal room and nine solo and small group practice spaces. The concert hall was designed in the traditional “shoebox” form of many international concert halls. Above the stage, a mechanized canopy of 43 individually controlled acrylic panels can be adjusted to fine-tune sound for clarity and reverberation. Tunable sound-absorbing curtains behind the bronze grilling and banners in the ceiling can be deployed out of sight to dampen or enliven the sound. The venue presents over 150 performances a year and over 75 arts and music education classes each week. Today, the organization’s hallmark is the Music Center at Strathmore, with a 1,976-seat concert hall and education complex that debuted in 2005.

Land records show that in 1943, two parcels of the original Corby estate—including the Mansion—were conveyed to the sisters directing St. Mary’s Academy.

At the end of each event, the exit gates to the garage will be open for 30 minutes to exit the garage. Parking for events and exhibitions in the Mansion is free in the Mansion lot on a space available basis. Your generosity brings distinctive programming and renowned artists to Strathmore’s stages and galleries and ensures that everyone in our community can experience the joy and wonder of the arts. Having constructed new schools and residences nearby, the sisters sold the Mansion and its remaining 30 acres to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in 1977 for use as its temporary headquarters. Read on to trace the history of the Mansion at Strathmore, from its turn-of-the-century roots as a grand summer estate to its transformation into a spirited arts center. The public-private partnership between Strathmore Hall Foundation, Inc. assumes the day-to-day management and artistic programming of the Music Center and Mansion.

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Located on the Bou Family Terrace, “Tetra Con Brio,” a monumental sculpture of cast bronze, steel, and polished concrete, stands 12 feet (3.7 m) tall and weighs 4,500 pounds. In 1998, the Montgomery County Council and the Maryland State Legislature approved matching capital support ($48 million each) for the Music Center at Strathmore. After the design team was selected in 2001, work began under the direction of the county. The Music Center at Strathmore and the Strathmore Mansion are located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda, Maryland, just off of the Capital Beltway and adjacent to the Grosvenor/Strathmore stop on the Washington, DC Metro’s Red Line. Take the stairs or elevators to the 4th level and walk across the sky bridge to the Concert Hall.

More than 5,000 artists and 2 million visitors have attended exhibitions, concerts, teas, educational events and outdoor festivals since 1983. The complex is thus accessible for patrons coming from Washington, Harbor House D.C., as well as the northern part of Montgomery County, Maryland via the Metro rail system. In 1979, Montgomery County, Maryland acquired the Mansion and 11 acres of land from ASHA. The house was renamed Strathmore Hall, after the newly established nonprofit, and the Mansion with its surrounding grounds were developed as Montgomery County’s first center for the arts.

After extensive restoration, the Mansion at Strathmore opened its doors to the public on June 24, 1983. The Music Center at Strathmore features an undulating roof that outlines the sloping form of the concert hall. Inspired by the rolling hills of the Strathmore grounds, the 190,000-square-foot (18,000 m2) building is nestled into an 11-acre (45,000 m2) park-like setting. The Neo-Georgian mansion has columned porticos, Palladian windows and a hilltop setting, It was designed by Appleton P. Clark, Jr., and constructed in 1902 as a summer home for Captain James F. Oyster, Mrs. James Oyster and their family. In 1908, the Oysters sold the residence and its 99 acres (400,000 m2) to Charles I. Corby and his wife, Hattie. It was used as a summer home until 1914 when it was remodeled by architect Charles Keene, and became the permanent abode for the Corby family.