EDMOND — Sitting in one of Armstrong Auditorium’s plush seats, looking at the concert stage you can easily imagine Luciano Pavarotti singing “Nessun Dorma.”

It won’t be long before patrons will be listening to actual world-class artists performing on the stage.

The Armstrong International Cultural Foundation will celebrate its 13th season of performing arts when the doors open Sunday on its $20 million, eight-story concert hall, located on the Herbert W. Armstrong College campus in Edmond along Bryant Avenue just north of Waterloo Road.

Immediately following the invitation-only grand opening ceremonies, the Armstrong College Choral Union and full professional orchestra will inaugurate the concert hall at 3 p.m. with an encore presentation of Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.” Tickets are required for the concert.

After Sunday, area residents are welcome to visit the campus.

Shane Granger, marketing director for the Armstrong Cultural Foundation, said the hall is another step in the right direction for the Oklahoma City metro area in the tradition of the MAPS projects and other positive developments.

“Oklahoma City and Edmond have come into their own,” Granger said.

In addition to hearing world class artists, concert-goers will be surrounded by luxury.

The palatial 823-seat auditorium is adorned with more than a dozen Swarovski-trimmed chandeliers, seven-foot Baccarat crystal candelabra commissioned by the Shah of Iran, American cherry wood veneers, Spanish marble and Persian onyx. Other materials adding to the beauty of the hall include Brazilian sandstone, Brazilian granite and Turkish Travertine.

Two Steinway concert-grand pianos were hand-selected and imported from Hamburg, Germany.

“People will feel like they’re in New York or Milan,” Granger said. “We want to set the world standard here.”

Operations manager Ryan Malone said, “Armstrong Auditorium is a concert-goer’s dream. The caliber of performers in our series will now be matched by this magnificent venue. There isn’t a bad seat in the house.”

Regarding seating, Granger said it could have been a 1,200 seat concert hall, but planners opted for more spacious seats and rows.

Attention to detail was and is part of the concert hall’s acoustics, engineered by Pelton Marsh Kinsella out of Dallas, Texas.

Designers say the ratio comparing the volume of the hall to each seat will be more ideal than Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Boston’s Symphony Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein — the three standards engineers use to compare acoustic quality.

Additional audio components include indoor and outdoor sound reinforcement capability and a transmitter system for the hearing impaired.

Video highlights include a closed-circuit television system, high definition TV recording and production capabilities, HD monitors in all dressing rooms, lobby areas and backstage, a satellite uplink and downlink patch bay and two editing bays.

Performers will also be treated royally, as well as the patrons, Granger said. There are two luxury dressing suites for principals, and three areas for casts. The front section of the stage is able to be lowered nine feet to create an orchestra pit.

Groundbreaking for the project was in January 2008. Architects were Rees Associates out of Oklahoma City.

In addition to hosting various performances including Broadway-style shows, the hall will serve as a house of worship for the Philadelphia Church of God and provide classroom space for Herbert W. Armstrong College music faculty.

The Philadelphia Church of God, founded by Gerald Flurry, is an international church headquartered in Edmond. The church administers Herbert W. Armstrong College, a liberal arts and theology college. Armstrong International Cultural Foundation is the humanitarian arm of the church.

The church has 94 congregations in the United States and Canada, and members live in 67 countries around the world.



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