New performing arts center eyed for Centre County

Home is where the oboe is — unless of course you’re just renting.

Thus is the reality facing Susan Kroeker and the rest of the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, who will continue to play out the rest of their season from the comfort of the State Theatre.

Kroeker, orchestra executive director, is grateful for the accommodations, as impermanent as they might be.

“Every year it’s gotten harder and harder for us to find venues to perform,” Kroeker said.

A few weeks ago, she officially became one of the founding board members of the Nittany Performing Arts Centre, a nascent orchestra/classical music performance hall that, if completed, would supply some of the county’s artistic nomadic with a place to call their own.

Early plans call for the venue to sit more than 700 people.

“We’d like it to be very accessible to our audience,” Douglas Meyer, conductor laureate of the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, said.

The idea for the performing arts center started with Meyer, who made a career out of conducting all over the United States and Europe.

In addition to Kroeker, Roberta Strebel, of the Nittany Valley Symphony; Connor Weigand, of the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania; and Tom Penkala, of the State College Choral Society, joined Meyer on the project’s board.

“They got all excited about it of course because if they actually had a home that would make things a lot easier,” Meyer said.

He’s not sure where the performing arts center would eventually be constructed. Right now, the board’s focus is on fundraising.

“This is no small feat, however, I believe central Pennsylvania will understand the benefits of such an endeavor. We’ve got all we need right here to make it happen. We just need everybody to be on board with it,” Strebel, the executive director of the Nittany Valley Symphony, said.

To her, the Nittany Performing Arts Centre is an opportunity to build not just a stage, but a home.

“We could rehearse there, perform there, store our instruments there, store our music there, have our meetings there, and have it all mere steps away from the office or the stage,” Strebel said.

More information on the Nittany Performing Arts Centre can be found at www.nittanypac.org.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 12:15 PM with the headline "New performing arts center eyed for Centre County."