Controversy has turned into applause for Orchestra Hall's $55M expansion

The joint lacked the funky vibe of a downtown music club: There were no cabaret tables or candles; no waiters bustling about, whispering "You can pay me when you're ready"; no kitchen in the back sending out munchies.

But if you closed your eyes and listened to a jazz trio re-create Duke Ellington's legendary "Money Jungle" album on a winter evening, Orchestra Hall's Target Atrium had enough of the right sounds to attract hipsters, youngsters and aficionados (even a tattoo or two) to a cathedral best known as the home of the Minnesota Orchestra.

"Money Jungle" was one of three jazz concerts planned annually in the atrium, a number that Jeremy Walker, who runs the venue's jazz program, would love to at least double.

"We've had to do very little selling," Walker said. "I hope we can do more, but there's a lot of pressure on using that room."

Indeed there is. The atrium — part of a controversial 2012-13 remodeling project — has given the orchestra a new venue for music, events and rentals. Combined with the refurbished lobby, it has expanded the orchestra's ability to make money, fund programs and push into different musical forms.

"Orchestra Hall doesn't need to be an exclusive kind of space," said Greg Milliren, the orchestra's associate principal flute.

Milliren has performed in several NightCap events — small performances following orchestra concerts — and chamber programs in the atrium. The space, he noted, allows the orchestra to expand programming and collaborations with outside arts groups.

Owning a building can be a double-edged sword for an arts organization.

On the one hand, companies such as the orchestra or the Guthrie Theater can use the asset to their advantage. Both organizations host business, political and social events in open and inviting spaces.

The Guthrie's ninth-floor lobby boasts spectacular views of St. Anthony Falls and the Mississippi River, and the adjacent theater space can be opened up to host upward of 250 people. The atrium, which pushed the existing Orchestra Hall envelope out into Peavey Plaza, has a fairly clean palette, with blond natural wood floors and walls of glass that invite in the Minneapolis skyline.

"Having control of your space just gives you so many more options," orchestra president Kevin Smith said. "We can rent out the entire hall, for example, at a time the orchestra is playing somewhere else."

Owning the place, though, means you have to turn on the lights and pay for the heat. Smith said the orchestra has been fortunate. Efficiencies in construction and materials have kept utility bills roughly the same in the expanded cubic footage. The Guthrie, however, reflected much higher operational costs in annual reports after moving into its new complex in 2006.

"The new hall and the atrium remind me of Detroit's new hall and their 'Music Cube,' " said Milliren. "Disney Hall [in Los Angeles] was built with this in mind, too."

The two performance spaces in St. Paul's Ordway Center are used by many different organizations. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra performs in the new concert hall, opened in 2015, while the Minnesota Opera and the Ordway theatrical series use the main stage.

Smith inherited the expansion of Orchestra Hall from his predecessor, Michael Henson, who became a lightning rod for criticism during the orchestra's 16-month lockout and stepped down in 2014.

"The idea was the renovation would generate a 50 percent increase in 'other income,' but it's gone up 100 percent," he said. "Last year's income from concessions and rentals was $1.3 million [up from $640,000 prior to remodeling] and this year is on track to do that and maybe more. We were concerned that the novelty would wear off, but that hasn't happened."

The remodeling had been in the works for more than a decade. In 2011, it finally was shaped into a project that the orchestra's board felt could be funded, as part of a capital campaign to pay for artistic initiatives and build a new endowment fund. About $55 million was eventually committed to physical improvements, including roomier seats in the concert hall and a lobby that doubled in size, with added bars to sell concessions.

"It was a symbol of pointing out the financial priorities," said Milliren. "But musicians — I certainly did — recognize the necessity of this project. It needed to happen, but the context was wrong."

When the orchestra got back to work in February 2014, some musicians still harbored ill feelings for the new hall after taking a 15 percent cut in salary and concessions in health care.

Time and distance, though, has a salutary effect. Milliren said the musicians are enjoying the chance to perform three programs on the chamber music series — and one or two more in the summer — plus the nightcaps.

"You come off a concert and you're tired, but once you get in there and start playing again, it's exhilarating. It's a sense of accomplishment and audiences are good — they can't get enough music."

Last summer, musicians joined board members and staff in the newly remodeled lobby for the Symphony Ball, once the Twin Cities' social event of the season and still the orchestra's biggest fundraiser. The evening symbolized an embrace of the space by all parties.

The atrium is the highest-profile new toy to come out of the remodeling project. Chamber groups perform there, and soloists with the orchestra do pre- and post-concert work. For Sommerfest, the atrium provides the orchestra three distinct venues (including Peavey Plaza) for programming.

It also serves as something of a town hall — political and corporate groups routinely hold meetings there. Weddings and other private social events generate income, too.

Smith said the orchestra is wary of codifying too much programming in the Target Atrium. The room has allowed it to develop relationships with 30 other musical groups that use the atrium for teaching or performing. He prefers to experiment, even if Walker would like to expand the jazz program.

Walker resists the temptation to compare his modest efforts to New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, but if there is a corollary, he said, it is "the idea that a jazz program can be a part of a larger classical orchestra."

"Money Jungle (Revisited)" was held on a warm February night. While the full orchestra played a Russian program in the sold-out auditorium, about 250 people listened as pianist Bryan Nichols led the Atrium Jazz Ensemble (drummer J.T. Bates and bassist Jeff Bailey) through the music recorded in 1962 by Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach.

Acoustically, the atrium is a work in progress. When it's empty, it sounds great, Milliren said. But filled, "the acoustic can get pretty dry, especially at the back of the room."

Smith acknowledged they are "still testing the acoustics." He wants to be careful, though, how far they push.

"A rock band would blow the place out."

Graydon Royce is a longtime arts journalist for the Star Tribune. He can be reached at roycegraydon@gmail.com.