On the centennial of the first concert at Beall Hall, the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance will celebrate the performance venue this weekend.
The concert hall has been around since April 1925, but was named for 1897 UO alum Robert Vinton “Vintie” Beall Jr. in 1973. His bequest funded the hall’s famous Jürgen Ahrend Organ.
“You are going to see and hear a little bit of everything from opera to jazz to dance collaborations to choirs,” said Elaine Martir, a fourth year graduate student in flute performance who's taking part in the centennial celebration. “You are really going to see the full talent that U of O has within its students, faculty within its community. There's going to be some really, really special performances on that stage and I'm really excited for everyone to see it and to live in the moment.”
Martir, as a soloist and flute choir director, will perform “Within for Flute Choir” by Ian Clarke with the flute studio. The performance is a collaboration between the music and dance departments.
“What we will have is Piccolo, C flute, alto and bass,” Martir said. “So you'll hear the whole range of choir, we call it choir because you know the soprano, tenor, and bass voice, and it's, it's really just a different, a different layer to flute playing. It just sounds so much more full and with the dancers, it just creates this environment that fills up the hall. And it's just really, you're gonna be able to feel the music and especially with the dancers movements, it's, it's super magical. I'm really excited.”
Martir told KLCC she had her most meaningful performance at Beall Hall. She was the concerto competition winner in 2023 and performed a piece by Michael Daugherty called “The Trail of Tears”
“Beall Hall was completely full. The new president of the school was there,” she said. “And there's just something so powerful when you have those moments of performing. The energy stays in the hall. It stays with people. So, just from that alone, just in my life, how much that means to me. I think about the generations of people who've been here, students, how many of us have grown on that stage, how many of us have experienced such joy from the audience seeing our friends and colleagues perform”
The Beall Hall centennial celebration begins Friday evening with a performance on the organ by Paul Jacobs, to recognize the first ever concert at Beall Hall, which was an organ performance.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, students and faculty host a free open house. That will include the flute and dance collaboration and a UO Opera preview.
Sunday, violinist Soovin Kim performs Bach solo works.
• Paul Jacobs, organ – April 4, 7:30 p.m. [ticket link]
• Open House Revue – April 5, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. [link for more information]
• Soovin Kim, violin – April 6, 3:00 p.m. [ticket link]
