50-Year-Old Rocky Mountain Tradition Culminates in Permanent Theatre

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 17, 2001) Auerbach + Associates of San Francisco and New York is the theatre design consultant for the new Benedict Music Tent at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, Colorado. Auerbach + Associates designed the production and performance systems for this facility, the only tent structure in the world to host world-class music performances.

The new 2,050-seat Benedict Music Tent is a permanent tensile structure, designed by Harry Teague Architects to combine the superior acoustics of a major concert hall with the relaxed environment that patrons have experienced at the Aspen Music Festival since 1949. It provides a permanent home for the renowned summer festival in an informal setting open to the fresh air of the Rockies.

Auerbach + Associates' project scope included concert lighting design, dimming and lighting control systems design and rigging accommodation. Auerbach + Associates began work in the project's Design Development phase with Harry Teague Architects, and Kirkegaard & Associates, the project's acoustician.

"The Benedict Music Tent is a world-class concert hall that takes advantage of its breathtaking setting, high in the Rocky Mountains," said S. Leonard Auerbach, President of Auerbach + Associates. "The new tent continues the tradition of al-fresco concerts in the sunlight and fresh air of Aspen, but for the first time concert-goers have a theater environment to match the quality of the music and the spectacular views."

The new facility succeeds two previous tents on the same site, the first of which was designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen in 1949 and had 900-seats. The second structure was the 1,750-seat canvas Bayer-Benedict Tent, erected in 1965. The new 2,050-seat tent is made of Teflon-coated fiberglass tensile material, fabricated and installed by Birdair, Inc., which also fabricated the Millennium Dome in London and the roof of the Denver International Airport.

Critical early input from Auerbach + Associates allowed the architect to adjust the slope of the front seating area to improve sightlines. Audience seating was excavated below ground level, so the tent interior has the lofty acoustics of a concert hall without the exterior intruding on the majestic scenery of the Rockies. Auerbach + Associates worked closely with Harry Teague Architects to adjust the slope in the front area while not affecting elevations at the stage and the rear of the pavilion that could not be altered.

The concert lighting system includes capacity for soloist highlights as well as lighting for individual score reading. The system is designed to allow future expansion to support theatrical lighting for popular music presentations.

"The Benedict Music Tent has an unusually large stage, designed to hold the Festival Orchestra, which is made up of a combination of 150 students and faculty," said Steven Friedlander, Principal-in-Charge for Auerbach + Associates. "The sheer scale required a larger-than-normal lighting system over the stage to provide appropriate illumination for the large performance platform and chorus area."

"We designed the lighting system to allow for flexibility and ease of operation," noted Grace Gavin, the project manager for Auerbach + Associates. "The system has been preconfigured to support performances ranging from a small recital, to a chamber orchestra, symphony or a large symphony with chorus at the push of a button."

Auerbach + Associates designed rigging points into the basic support structure to allow for the hanging of additional lighting, sound and scenic elements. The structural requirements for rigging, typically a significant component of the structural requirements, were not difficult to accommodate, as the structural system was designed to support huge snow loads during the Aspen winter, when the tent is not in use. Slender columns rise from the ground to support an acoustical disk of wood and steel high in the center, over which the tent material is draped.

"We worked closely with the architect and acoustician to combine the architectural and acoustic requirements with the service systems for the lights," said Friedlander. "Custom-designed triangular trusses are incorporated into the acoustic canopy over the stage. The trusses support all the lighting instruments with conventional theatrical C-clamps."

"The lights on the trusses follow the line of the acoustic canopy, angled as they go out to match the stage walls. The bottom chords of the trusses hold the canopy, and the top chord holds the lights. The lenses of the fixtures are in the same plane as the acoustic canopy."

Each summer the Aspen Music Festival presents more than 200 events over a nine-week summer schedule, including orchestral concerts, chamber music, opera, and contemporary music. Concerts take place daily at the Benedict Music Tent, which was officially dedicated in summer 2000. Harry Teague Architects designed the wall of the tent where it meets the ground to be open, allowing fresh summer breezes to blow through and symphonic music to waft out gratis to music lovers sitting on the grassy hillsides, continuing a 50-year Aspen tradition.

In past years the Festival has hosted Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, and many other famed composers conducting their own scores. The Aspen Music School, one of the world's premier training grounds for pre-professional musicians, was officially incorporated into the Festival in 1953. The School started in 1950 when 35 enthusiastic students followed their teachers to the mountains for the summer festival. The students spontaneously formed the Aspen Festival Orchestra, which first performed in 1951.