The Pullo Center welcomed a range of student musicians in its 1,016-seat theater with full production capabilities.
Photo Credit: Royce Images Photography
Penn State University’s annual President’s Concert, an esteemed event that has graced East Coast performance halls like New York’s Carnegie Hall and Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, made its way to York in late March. The Pullo Center on the Penn State York campus welcomed a range of student musicians in its 1,016-seat theater with full production capabilities, including a percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, and the Glee Club.
The President’s Concert is a production of the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture and Penn State School of Music. For the event’s 17th year, the Pullo Center welcomed members of the Penn State community and guests in its performance venue as well as the Graham Center for Innovation & Collaboration and in the neighboring Conference Center.
‘Creativity and innovation’
Representatives of Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects, who proudly sponsored the event, attended the performance and noted the sheer memorability of the musical production. “Their virtuosity, their skills were just amazing,” says Frank Dittenhafer II, President of Murphy & Dittenhafer. “What I think hit me and others was how creative and innovative their performances were.”
Dittenhafer noted the sweeping magnitude of the percussion ensemble, with various percussion instruments spanning the large stage of the Pullo Center. Put bluntly, Dittenhafer says, “It was an astounding concert.”
An intentionally designed atmosphere
Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects designed the Pullo Family Performing Arts Center as well as renovations at the Conference Center and the award-winning two-year-old Graham Center for Innovation & Collaboration, all of which were included in the evening's events. The concert’s VIP reception took place at the Conference Center. “It really shined,” says Dittenhafer. The more intimate pre-reception (or “preception,” as Dittenhafer coined) for Penn State Arts & Architecture Alumni, took place next door at the Graham Center, which also featured M&D’s creative design touch.
“To have played a part in designing spaces that can honor such substantial events,” says Dittenhafer, “I was really proud.”
York: A higher echelon of the arts
Dittenhafer himself is a Penn State graduate. Now running an Architecture firm in York, Dittenhafer recognizes that “York is a big supporter of the arts, and with the Pullo Center, it has a world-class venue to host performances such as the President’s Concert. It really puts it up there in a higher echelon.”
The Pullo Center is not an auditorium, but a fully equipped performing arts center accommodating a diverse array of touring shows, concerts, and cultural, community, and educational events (including Broadway, ballet, and Cirque du Soleil tech rehearsals).
With this year’s President’s Concert behind us, the Pullo Center will go on to host many more indelible events and York will continue to evolve as a hub for the arts. Meanwhile, Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects will continue to support the arts and design spaces within its community, making creativity and convergence all the more possible.
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