Saratoga Performing Arts Center
SPAC | |
Live Nation) | |
Type | Outdoor amphitheatre |
---|---|
Seating type | reserved, lawn |
Capacity | 5,103 seats, 20,000 on lawn |
Construction | |
Built | 1964-1965 |
Opened | July 9, 1966 |
Website | |
spac |
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is a large amphitheatre located in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park. It presents summer performances of classical music, jazz, pop and rock, country, comedy, and dance. It opened on July 9, 1966, with a presentation of George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream by the New York City Ballet.43°03′19″N 73°48′21″W / 43.0553°N 73.8058°W
The Center is the official summer home of the New York City Ballet, which is in residence for one week in July, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, which is in residence for three weeks in August.
SPAC also serves as the common venue for high school graduations, particularly for Saratoga Springs, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Shenendehowa, and Ballston Spa High Schools. Skidmore College commencement exercises also take place at the venue.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Inc. is a non-profit charitable corporation that runs the arts center. It holds a 50-year renewable lease with the State of New York, which owns the land, theaters and buildings that comprise the center. SPAC subcontracts with
History
In early February 1961, Albany newspaperman Duane La Fleche noted a wire service report about a group hoping to entice the New York Philharmonic to make Stowe, Vermont its summer residence. La Fleche proposed that the group stay in New York State and perform in Saratoga Springs. Local civic, cultural, and legislative leaders, who had previously considered a Saratoga Arts Center an interesting possibility, began to design the facility. Within a week, they held their first meeting; within a month they were focusing on Saratoga Spa State Park as the site, had won the support of State Conservation Commissioner Harold Wilm, and began discussions with both the New York Philharmonic and New York City Ballet.
By summer 1963, contributions from Rockefeller Brothers Fund and New York State supplemented community support to create Saratoga Performing Arts Center. In June 1964,
Farm Aid was held here in 2013. Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Willie Nelson headlined.
Past presidents of SPAC include
Present-day performances
The Philadelphia Orchestra's most well-attended performance is its annual Festive Fireworks performance, which includes the 1812 Overture and one or two well-known works.
A feature of each summer is the Jazz Festival, which presents major and emerging jazz artists on two stages.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents programs in the Spa Little Theatre.
SPAC is also a venue for non-classical concerts, which are booked exclusively by
Popular rock band Phish has played the venue 20 times beginning in 1992. The band has played at SPAC multiple times since its 2009 return including three-night runs in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
Sting performed during his Symphonicities Tour on July 31, 2010, along with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dave Matthews Band has played at the venue a total of 44 times.[5] They recorded the live album Live Trax 11 in 2000 and Live Trax 38 from June 8, 1996. The band has sold out more concerts than any other artist at the venue, with eleven.[6]
For at least two decades, SPAC has hosted the School of Orchestral Studies (SOS) for the New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) program. Approximately 115
SPAC is headed by Elizabeth Sobol. Over 200 seasonal employees keep the venue running through the summer season.
SPAC's largest attended performance in its history was by The Grateful Dead in 1985, where a total of 40,231 fans showed up to see the band. Since the show, SPAC limits its capacity to 25,103.
See also
References
- ^ "Saratoga Performing Arts Center" (PDF). Saratoga Performing Arts Center Festival Site. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "THE DOORS - Ode to Friedrich Nietzsche". YouTube.
- Schenectady Gazette, August 23, 2008, p. D4.
- ^ Geraldine Freedman. "Pianist Wang enjoys unpredictable schedule". August 14, 2008.
- ^ "DMBAlmanac.com²". dmbalmanac.com.
- ^ "About SPAC; the official site of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center".