Excitement is mounting in Dayton, where the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra prepares to move into its new home in the $125 million Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center next season, the orchestra's 70th.

        It's part of a Dayton revival that is bringing more people downtown. The two-year-old Fifth-Third Field, home of the Class A Dayton Dragons baseball team, and RiverScape, a $21.1 million park on the banks of the Great Miami River, are big parts of the revival.

        This year, the orchestra's classical subscriptions shot up 25 percent in anticipation of the new home.

        “It's incredibly exciting, but we also have to be patient, because it's not quite ready yet,” Dayton music director Neal Gittleman says. ""But it's closer than it seems, after all these years of waiting.”

        Last week, the orchestra announced that its 2002-03 charter season will include the dedication of the Schuster Center, March 6 and 8, 2003. It will play the first six concerts of its nine-concert season in its old home, Dayton's Memorial Hall.

        Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg will christen the new hall in March with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Pianist Leon Bates performs Beethoven's “Emperor” Concerto April 25 and 26.

        The season will conclude with the renowned American opera diva Frederica von Stade (May 15 and 17).

       @text:But the orchestra did not skimp on stars — or programming — for the Memorial Hall portion. The season, which opens Sept. 27-28, includes the distinguished pianist Emanuel Ax playing Mozart (Oct. 11-12). In November, Mr. Gittleman will conduct Benjamin Britten's massive War Requiem.

        “I wanted to have some exciting things going on in the Memorial Hall, to close out our tenure there in a stylish way, while at the same time building things up for the new hall,” says Mr. Gittleman, who begins his eighth season in September.

        To show off the new hall's acoustics, Mr. Gittleman is performing Beethoven's Consecration of the House — as the final piece in Memorial Hall and the first piece in the Schuster Center.

        Besides the symphony, the hall will host a Broadway series, as well as Dayton Opera. It will seat 2,100 for symphony; 2,300 for Broadway and opera.

        Christopher Jaffe (of Jaffe Holden Acoustics, Inc.) is the acoustician.

        “They've got a great track record doing the acoustics for pure concert halls, but they also have a lot of success with multipurpose halls,” Mr. Gittleman says. The schedule calls for a “tuning” — trying out the acoustics with the orchestra — in February.

       @text:Mr. Gittleman's programming philosophy was to balance four new works that are being commissioned for the Wright Brothers Centennial, with tried-and-true repertoire — such as Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in September and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade in January with Dayton's new concertmaster, Lucas Aleman-Delgado.

        The new pieces — by William Bolcom, Robert Foster, Robert Rodriguez, and Steven Winteregg — will all have a flight theme celebrating the Wright brothers' achievements. The project will result in the orchestra's second CD.

        The SuperPops series, formerly held in Dayton's Convention Center, will also move to the Schuster Center. With artists such as Ben Vereen and trumpeter Doc Severinsen, Mr. Gittleman predicts that it will be sold out by subscription.

        The Schuster Center, designed by Cesar Pelli, is under construction at Second and Main streets, Dayton. Besides a theater, it includes a block-long, seven-story Wintergarden — a glass-enclosed public area. A 25-story office and condominium tower will be part of the complex.

        A restaurant on the ground floor of the tower will spill out into the Wintergarden. The orchestra will have a green room, where artists may greet fans, and three donor lounges for multiple receptions.

        With so much growth in the suburbs between Cincinnati and Dayton, Mr. Gittleman anticipates that the new arts center could draw a new audience.

        “Flying out of Dayton is easier and cheaper (than Cincinnati),” he says. “We're hoping that once we have a first-class facility to offer, people will realize it's the same amount of time, and maybe even a lot nicer.”

        The orchestra, which has a $3.5 million budget, is moving from midweek concerts to weekends.

        It's all part of the idea of bringing people downtown.

        “Now that RiverScape and the Dragons have been getting people downtown, they've been saying, it's actually rather nice,” Mr. Gittleman says.
        Information: (937) 224-9000 or daytonphilharmonic.com

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