Carnegie Hall, Inc. is a regional cultural center located in Lewisburg, West Virginia, United States. It is within the Allegheny Mountains. Monroe, Greenbrier, Pocahontas and Summers Counties are included in Carnegie Hall, Inc.’s primary service area. This region encompasses approximately 2,900 square miles (7,500 km2) and 73,000 people.
Carnegie Hall, Inc. annually serves more than 75,000 patrons with live performances by artists from around the world, arts in education programming, classes, workshops, fine art exhibits, an independent film series and more. Carnegie Hall, Inc. is one of only eight Carnegie Halls still in continuous use in the world.
Carnegie Hall, Inc.’s signature slogan is Bringing the Arts to Life! Carnegie Hall, Inc. adopted its current mission statement on April 17. 2006: Carnegie Hall is a regional center for the visual and performing arts. Its mission is to: present and promote artistic performances and exhibitions, educate the community in and about the arts and encourage and support active community participation in the arts.
In 1902, Lewisburg resident James Laing approached steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (both men grew up in the same town in Scotland) with the request for support to replace a structure that had burned to the ground. Carnegie agreed to donate $33,000 to build Carnegie Hall as a classroom building for the Lewisburg Female Institute, later the Greenbrier College for Women. Greenbrier College for Women closed in 1972 and Carnegie Hall became part of the state run Greenbrier Center, a facility for the mentally and emotionally disadvantaged, for ten years.
In the early 1980s, rumors surfaced that the building was to be condemned and razed. A group of area residents organized to form Carnegie Hall, Inc., a not-for-profit regional arts and education center, which was incorporated in February 1983. For two years volunteers worked to make the building functional and safe. The first paid employee, Charles Goddard, was hired as Managing Director and served from 1985 until 1989. Performances and classes were organized and offered to the public. In 1989, Vivian Conly became Executive Director of the organization. Momentum continued to build, interest and support increased and staff was added to better plan and execute programs requested by area communities. A $3.4M restoration of the historic building was undertaken in 1996 and completed in June 1997 (after a major fire on December 24, 1996 destroyed much of the building). Conly resigned in 2000 and Bruce Loving, Christy Clemons-Rodgers and Bradley Burck each served as President and CEO of the Hall in the ensuing four years. Susan Adkins became Executive Director in July 2005 and currently holds this position. The annual budget of the Hall grew from $89,000 in 1989 to $820,000 in 2006. The Hall received a $70,000 grant from the State of West Virginia in 2006.
Architecture and renovations
Carnegie Hall, Inc.’s original structure was designed by architects Barrett & Thompson in 1902 in the Greek Revival style, characterized foremost by its Ionic order portico with pediment, shouldered architrave trim, tall first floor windows and cornice with dentils. Keeping with this style, the remainder of the structure is composed of simple, rectangular blocks with flat roofs.
A major renovation was designed by architects TAG Galyean and Kreps & Kreps (now Kreps & Zachwieja) and completed on June 18, 1997 to accommodate an elevator, administrative offices and an accessible entrance to the building.
In 2006, renovations to the front entrance were completed to comply with ADA guidelines, including a ramp, floor leveling and parking.
1990 - Taj Mahal, Seldom Scene
1991 - Wynton Marsalis
1991 - Isaac Stern
1992 - Asleep At The Wheel
1993 - Doc Watson
1994 - Maynard Ferguson, Terrance Simien
1995 - Vienna Choir Boys, Philadanco, Richie Havens
1996 - Preservation Hall Jazz Band
1998 - Kathy Mattea, Gillian Welch
1999 - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
2000 - American Boychoir, Kathy Mattea
2001 - Pancho Sanchez
2003 - Joshua Bell, The Del McCoury Band
2004 - Harry Belafonte (lecture), Arlo Guthrie
2005 - Glenn Miller Orchestra
2006 - Tom Rush, Jesse Cook
2007 - Don Byron, Martha Graham Dance Company, Guy Clark, Josh Ritter
2008 - George Winston, Bill Frisell, Sonny Landreth, Ralph Stanley
2009 - Cowboy Junkies, Catherine Russell
2010 - Habib Koite, Paquito D'Rivera, Iris Dement, John Hammond
1991 - Underserved Communities Grant through the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts. Community Cultural Assessment process begins.
1993 - National Endowment for the Arts Design Arts Award ($10,000) to support creation of drawings for comprehensive master plan and planning materials.
1994 - National Trust for Historic Preservation - Preservation Services Fund (PSF) Grant ($1,200) for printed material regarding renovation of the Hall.
1994 - National Endowment for the Arts Local Arts Agencies Challenge Grant ($75,000) to generate matching funds for the renovation of Carnegie Hall, Inc.
2000 - National Lila Wallace/Arts Partners Grant to develop stronger ties between the arts and faith-based communities.
2000 - Education First Grant ($147,000) to create and execute a three-day Teach SmART professional development institute for 150 teachers in RESA IV school district.
2005 - The Carnegie Hall Foundation, Inc. was established to create an endowment for Carnegie Hall, Inc. to ensure ongoing operation.
2005 - West Virginia Division of Culture and History Capital Grant project to make the front entrance ADA compliant.
2005 - selected for the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation 2005-2008 Jazz Touring Network Class, which helps build an infrastructure and provides fee support for jazz programming in the community.
2006 - Recipient of the Dana Foundation Rural Initiative Grant, which funds training for in-school specialists and professional artists who teach in the schools.
2010 - Recipient of the NEA Challenge America Fast Track Grant for the Rhythm, Blues and All That Jazz Festival
1998 - Spirit of West Virginia Award at the Governor's Conference on Tourism.
2000 - Most Outstanding Cultural Organization in West Virginia at the Governor's Awards for Excellence in Culture, History and the Arts.
2000 - two Crystal Awards from the West Virginia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for excellence in public relations and marketing materials.
2007 - Mountaineer Award for innovative marketing of Taste of our Towns (TOOT)
2010 - Taste of Our Towns (TOOT) on Southeastern Tourism Society's Top 10 Events
Programs and partnerships
1993 - Carnegie Kids' College begins - an arts and humanities enrichment program for children featuring regional artists and educators leading workshops.
1997 - with the Greenbrier County Board of Education, elected as one of ten partnerships across America for inclusion in The Kennedy Center Performing Arts Centers and Schools: Partners in Education Program.
2001 - selected as a pilot site for Communities LinkUP!, a music education and distance learning curriculum through The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall (NY).
2004 - became an AmeriCorps VISTA site.
2007 - The Academy: A Program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute established to support emerging artists who are on the verge of major careers as performers and teaching artists.
2007 - 1st Annual Rhythm, Blues, and All That Jazz Festival,
2007 - Carnegie Hall Guild formed
2007 - Partnership with the Alderson Federal Prison formed, offering creative writing classes for inmates
2008 - Carnegie Children's Choir formed
2008 - 25th Anniversary of incorporation
2008 - Art Explorers After-school Program - partnership with Olgelbay Institute
2009 - 25th Anniversary of Taste of our Towns (TOOT)
The Mainstage Series - main performance series featuring world-renowned artists.
Storytelling Series - storytellers from around the world.
Ivy Terrace Concert Series - outdoor, summer concert series that is free to the public.
Take Note Series - showcase of regional talent.
First Stage - annual concert featuring accomplished young adults of the Greenbrier Valley.
Rhythm, Blues, and All That Jazz - jazz and blues festival.
Class and Workshop Series - led by master artists and crafts people in their fields and publicly open to all skill levels.
Carnegie Kids’ College - arts and humanities enrichment program, featuring regional artists and educators leading workshops at Carnegie.
After School Programming - designed to supplement learning outside the school day in safe and nurturing environment.
Art Explorers - a traveling art history exhibit used in after-school programs. Presented in partnership with Oglebay Institute.
Creative Classrooms - workshops led by local artists and educators that infuse the arts into multiple disciplines by making authentic connections to content standards.
Spotlight on Schools - gives students the opportunity to experience the performing arts by bringing artists to schools or bringing students to Carnegie Hall, Inc.
Teach SmART - Carnegie Hall, Inc. and Greenbrier County Schools are members of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partners in Education program, which enables collaboration on various arts and education endeavors with a commitment to improve artistic literacy.
Starlab - a portable planetarium offering students a way to learn astronomy, study the changing of the seasons and more.
Kennedy Center - the Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is designed to assist cultural organizations develop and expand educational partnerships with their local school systems.
Communities LinkUP - shares the educational expertise and resources of Carnegie Hall (NY) with arts organizations and school districts throughout the United States. Carnegie Hall (WV) and The Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall collaborate to bring this program to West Virginia schoolchildren.
Carnegie Hall, Inc. houses three galleries with rotating exhibits by world-renowned two- and three-dimensional artists: the Auditorium Lobby Gallery, Museum Gallery and Old Stone Room Gallery. Artwork is exhibited year-round and is free to the public.
Taste of Our Towns (TOOT) - a street festival started in 1984 as a fundraising event for Carnegie Hall, Inc., featuring food booths from regional restaurants, clubs and organizations; musical entertainment and children's activities. The event takes place annually on the second weekend in October in historic downtown Lewisburg.
Carnegie Film Series - fine and foreign films are screened at a local, independently owned movie house, the Lewis Theatre.
Tuesdays with Fran - a free concert and lecture series by local pianist and teacher, Fran Belin.
Monte Carlo - an annual benefit that funds education and programming at Carnegie Hall. The event includes food, live entertainment and "for-fun" gaming.
Fantasy - an annual costume themed event that is a fundraiser for Carnegie Hall. The theme and venue change annually and the event includes food and live entertainment.
Seven other concert halls also bear Carnegie's name, six of them in the USA. There is Carnegie Hall, a 540-seat venue in Andrew Carnegie's native Dunfermline (the first Carnegie Hall in the world); and the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City.
In addition, there are five Carnegie Halls (formerly six) in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area where Carnegie first resided in America and made his fortune. These are:
1928-seat Carnegie Music Hall on the main site of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the main branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh,the fourth Carnegie Hall in the USA.
Carnegie Hall on the North Side of Pittsburgh, formerly known as Allegheny, Pennsylvania. This was the first Carnegie Hall in America and is attached to the second Carnegie Library to open in America.
Carnegie Music Hall attached to the Carnegie library in the suburb of Braddock. This was the third Carnegie Hall in America and was built as part of an 1893 addition to the first Carnegie Library to open in the USA. As of April 2014, it is undergoing restoration.
1022-seat Carnegie Music Hall annexed to the Carnegie library in the suburb of Homestead. The long but symmetrical building contains the Music Hall on the left as you face the building, the library in the center, and a gymnasium, recreation club and indoor swimming pool on the right hand side.
Carnegie Music Hall attached to the Carnegie library in the suburb of Carnegie.
Carnegie also built a Library and Music Hall in the suburb of Duquesne, Pennsylvania that was demolished in 1968.
