The owners of Birchmere music hall in Alexandria, Va., will open a music venue in College Park as part of the East Campus redevelopment plan, Birchmere and the university announced Tuesday.
The 500-seat venue will open with the first phase of East Campus, which could be in either late 2010 or early 2011, Vice President for Administrative Affairs Doug Duncan said.
Duncan, whose plan to bring a Birchmere-owned venue to Silver Spring was shot down by Montgomery County officials this summer, contacted Birchmere about opening a venue in College Park after that deal fell through, he said.
“We wanted something that’s going to make [East Campus] unique and distinctive in this region,” Duncan said. “Having their second location in College Park is a huge help to us. It gives credibility, prestige … It’s the right kind of environment.”
As part of the deal, Birchmere will have a second stage specifically for emerging singer-songwriters in the Washington area, while also forging a partnership with the university’s school of music, a university press release said. However, the specific relationship between the school and the venue is still in the early stages of planning, Duncan said.
“We haven’t worked [the relationship] out yet – it’s very preliminary,” he said. “I would hope the Birchmere’s up-and-coming space would have a lot of students there. There’s nothing formal yet. It’s a resource we hope the School of Music will use.”
The original Birchmere is one of the premier venues in the Washington metropolitan area. It has housed a diverse range of acts through the years – ranging from Dave Matthews early in his career to Herbie Hancock this past summer, Duncan said. The venue’s 500 seats are situated around tables – presenting patrons with a unique dining experience while watching a show.
“It’s a top-notch venue in a small setting,” Prince George’s County Councilman Eric Olson said of the Alexandria venue. “This is not a massive concert hall – it’s an intimate setting.”
Because this area has few music venues, there is a greater chance of success in College Park, Olson said.
“You’ve got thousands of young people; no music venue between Annapolis, Baltimore and D.C.; and you have a lot of people in the county and immediate area who would patronize an establishment like this,” Olson said. “I’ve long held the view that a college town should have a music venue where well-known performers can come, and the Birchmere has a long-standing successful track record when you think of the well-known performers it attracts.”
Both Duncan and Olson stressed that the venue would build community between city residents and students.
“What’s going to be nice is we’re going to be able to connect students and others who have their ears plugged into their iPods all the time with live performance,” Duncan said. “It’s going to create this greater bond between the students and music.”
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