By June Mathews
Neil Davis is proud to be a part of a Samford University series that since 2008 has brought world-renowned artists to Birmingham audiences.
But his firm also having designed the building that hosts the series, well, that’s pretty special, too.
The 2016-17 Davis Architects Guest Artist Series opens Sept. 27 in the university’s Jane Hollock Brock Recital Hall.
Ten years after its opening, the hall remains a place of physical, as well as acoustical, beauty, in large part thanks to the work of Davis and his team. Its Georgian exterior echoes the architectural theme of the other buildings on campus, and its interior is what a blurb on the Davis Architects website describes as, “a visual feast as a companion for the auditory experience.”
Heady stuff for a small, 333-seat venue on a suburban college campus.
But according to Davis, it’s all in the design process, which for a music hall, differs from that of an office or school building, for instance.
“The most important thing is how the architect is able to deal with the acoustics of the hall and integrate it with the texture and finish of the interior,” he said. “It’s a matter of blending the design and character of the space with the acoustical aspects.”
For the design team, the process was partially inspired by the high standards that have made Samford one of the top-ranked private universities in the country.
“We knew the hall was being built for a fine music program,” Davis said.
As far as his firm’s role in Samford’s Guest Artist Series, Davis considers it an excellent way for Davis Architects to further support the Birmingham arts community.
“The opportunity presented itself, and we took it,” Davis said. “We’ve supported Birmingham’s Artwalk, a series of performances at the Alys Stephens Center and other arts-related events around the city, so when we were approached about this, we said we’d do it.”
Guest Artist Series
Created to provide local audiences exposure to world-renowned artists, the series also is a tool for educating and inspiring students of Samford’s performing arts program.
“Hearing these professionals’ stories allows students to envision their own futures,” School of the Arts Dean Joseph Hopkins said in announcing the coming season.
This year’s series opens with the famed Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and continues Nov. 17 with the return of pianist Leon Fleisher, along with his wife, Katherine Jacobson, also an acclaimed pianist. Fleisher was the inaugural guest artist in the Brock Recital Hall.
On Feb. 21, internationally celebrated guitarists the Assad Brothers will perform a selection of Latin American and European classics. The season will close March 28 with America’s premiere professional quartet low brass ensemble, Sotto Voce.
All performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students and $30 reserved.
“Samford brings in some outstanding artists for this series, and we’re proud to be a part of it,” said Davis. “And we certainly believe in the Samford program and where it’s headed in terms of the fine arts.”
But, he acknowledged, sponsorship of the Guest Artist Series is beneficial to Davis Architects in return.
“It’s also a chance to remind people that we do this kind of work, and it helps with the name recognition factor,” he said. “The more word gets out what kind of venue this is, the better it is for us.”
