COURTESY / CAMDEN REAL ESTATE
Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School bought High Mountain Hall in Camden to be its permanent location
December 1, 2022
Music to their ears: Camden approves Bay Chamber expansion
COURTESY / TARA RICE, BAY CHAMBER CONCERTS AND MUSIC SCHOOL
Students take music lessons at Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School.
The Camden Planning Board approved a 1,400-square-foot expansion of the second floor that increased the total building area from 7,100 square feet to 8,500 square feet. A 140-square-foot entryway was also added.
More Information
More Information
Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School was recently approved to begin renovations after finalizing the purchase earlier this year of its first permanent home at 5 Mountain St. in Camden.
After more than 60 years of offering concerts and music education in the midcoast region, the Rockport arts organization bought property in neighboring Camden for just over $1.3 million and is now in the midst of renovations expected to cost about $3 million. Until the purchase, the organization held concerts at rented venues.
“We’re really excited to be part of the energy of the business community and the artistic community of Camden,” the nonprofit’s executive director, Monica Kelly, told the Camden Planning Board during the hearing for site plan approval.
The 6,500-square-foot structure known as High Mountain Hall dates back 175 years and is one of Camden's oldest community buildings. Originally built as a church, it was converted into the Farmers Union and Collective in 1924 until 2007, when it was converted to a center for health and well-being.
Bay Chamber was founded in 1960. The first 25 years were devoted to summer classical concert programs. In 1974, the organization began offering concerts year-round.
Over the next 25 years, Bay Chamber, in partnership with the town of Rockport, restored the Rockport Opera House. In addition, Bay Chamber established an annual Young Stars of Maine Prize program for student musicians. It founded the Bay Chamber Music School in 2010, and developed community engagement programming.
A new location was needed because the organization outgrew its space at 18 Central St. in Rockport, Kelly told Mainebiz earlier this year.
When she and artistic director Manuel Bagorro looked at High Mountain Hall, she told the planning board, they realized it would be perfect for teaching studios and as a performance space.
The structure is about double the size of the previous location and includes a large space that served as a dance and yoga studio, making for an easy transition into a performance space.
“The acoustics are amazing,” Kelly said.
The new location is within walking distance of downtown Camden and the building is handicap-accessible.
Working with Barba + Wheelock Architects in Portland, renovations began last summer, to include extensive soundproofing.
Additional permitting was needed for a 1,400-square-foot expansion of the second floor that changed the structure’s total floor area from 7,100 square feet to 8,500 square feet. A 140-square-foot entryway will be added to accommodate a new drop-off area, and work will be done on two parking lots to create a designated entrance and exit. The latter change would include removing about 1,400 square feet of impervious surface and provide a connection between the two lots.
There was little public comment on the project, other than a couple of neighbors who were mainly concerned about noise from increased traffic going to and from the building and by music emanating from the building.
Kelly said every space will be soundproofed.
“The thing about a music school and a concert hall is that we have to keep it quiet from one room to another” and also keep as much outside noise as possible from entering the building, she said. “So I don’t anticipate there will be much noise coming from the building.”
The organization doesn’t present amplified music, only acoustic, she added. Concerts don’t go past 9 p.m. at the latest. It has about 40 concerts per year and not all will be at the Camden location. Capacity at the Camden location will be 100 people or fewer and the average concert would be about an hour, featuring performances such as classical guitar and piano or string quartets.
“So not really loud music,” Kelly said.
“We look forward to having you as neighbors in Camden now,” the board’s chair, Ethan Shaw, told Kelly after the site plan was approved.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments