A high note: Billings Symphony moves into new space, live shows to begin again
Sabian cymbal lampshades, a handrail that looks eerily like a tuning fork and a light fixture inspired by flutes are just a few clues that you’ve arrived in the new office space for the Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale.
The musical theme is certainly appropriate for the newly renovated office space in the Sukin Building at the corner of Second Avenue North and North 29th Street in downtown Billings that is now home to the Billings Symphony.
The symphony received the building as a donation in December 2019, the single largest in its history.
The building was donated by Jack and Adrea Sukin and Robert and Sandra Sukin, of Billings, through their company, Montana Development Co.
On Friday, from noon to 2 p.m. the symphony will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the public to come and view the space and connect with symphony staff.
That portion of the building has sat vacant for six years. It was formerly a Goldsmiths Gallery Jewelers. Other building tenants include Sassy Biscuit Co., Brockel’s Chocolates, Mist Salon, and Something Chic.
After more than a year of work, the renovations are complete.
“The idea for us was to move in a time when we don’t have concerts in July, August and September,” said Ignacio Barrón Viela, the symphony’s executive director.
But the pandemic did prolong renovations, which originally were to be completed by the end of May.
“Things happened. We moved in November but it was reasonable since there were less live events,” he said.
The symphony staff moved fully into the building in December, which provides office space for staff, an area for small concerts, a recording area, storage and an archival space for music and past performances.
“You don’t notice how many things you have accumulated over 20 years in a basement, it was such a process,” he said of the move from the former location.
Overall, renovations on the symphony’s portion of the building cost about $500,000, said Barrón Viela.
The symphony raised money for the renovations through private donors, including the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a Tax Increment Financing grant from the City of Billings, said Scott Brown, the Billings Symphony board of directors’ co-treasurer.
Making connections
Barrón Viela hopes that the new building will lead to more visibility to the public compared to the symphony’s former location on the third floor of the Montana Bank building at 201 N. Broadway. The Big Sky Economic Development Corporation purchased the building last year..
“In the Montana Bank our patrons never knew where we were. We had to put a board on the street saying ‘go up,’” Barrón Viela said.”This is hard to miss. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to the symphony, if you don’t like classical music or even music at all. Now it’s hard to miss who the Billings Symphony is.”
Barrón Viela hopes the new location will refresh that downtown corner, and give the symphony a chance to participate in the community more, including joining the ArtWalk or farmer’s markets, hosting small concerts or events and collaborating with area organizations.
“We want others to get the benefits of this space,” he said. “We want to partner with other nonprofits in the arts and other areas, and for profits organizations, and our neighbors.”
A silver lining
Overall, the past 10 months have been dark for the arts and entertainment scene in Billings, as the COVID-19 pandemic halted live performances for many, including the symphony.
In September, the symphony performed its first three performances of the season to a live audience before discontinuing the performances in October.
At the time, the Billings Symphony was one of just a handful of orchestras in the United States performing to live audiences.
The rising COVID-19 cases in Yellowstone County in the fall halted some of the season’s live performances and the symphony switched to streaming all concerts online.
“We had to change the approach,” Barrón Viela said.
The virtual concerts have been very well-attended, and became a silver lining in the pandemic.
Virtual concerts were not only more accessible for Billings’ residents, but opened up the performances to new audiences and followers, gaining traction nationally and even internationally, Barrón Viela said.
“We’ve become a live music broadcaster,” he said.
The lack of live concerts did lead to a drop in revenue, which the organization was able to offset with CARES Act money, the Paycheck Protection Program and money from the National Endowment of the Arts, Brown said.
“We’re lucky enough to be in good shape,” he said.
Nearly four months later, the symphony is ready to give live performances another try as cases continue to steadily fall in Yellowstone County and the governor works to reopen Montana’s economy.
“We have the green light,” Barrón Viela said. The health and safety protocols developed in September will remain in place and the performance will still be streamed online.
The symphony is preparing to have a live performance with the “Romeo and Juliet series” featuring pianist Pedja Mužijević performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, also featuring the Romeo & Juliet Overture by Tchaikovsky. Concerts are set for Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Lockwood Performing Arts Center.