PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – From Marvin Hamlisch to Mozart, the Pittsburgh Symphony has worked its magic under the Heinz Hall roof for 40 years.

Now that roof is part of a $3.8 million renovation.

Larry Tamburri is president of the symphony which has owned the building ever since it replaced the old Loew’s Theater 40 years ago.

In 1981, they added more to Heinz Hall and the garden area, which was recently upgraded with new paving stones and flowers.

“We’re on phase two of the renovations,” Tamburri said. “Phase one was this garden and the sidewalks around Heinz Hall. Phase two, we’re doing a lot of work back stage.”

Heinz Hall Vice President Carl Mancuso supervises all the backstage work from the floor to the ceiling. 

“This is going to upgrade our theater, put us at state-of-the-art with both sound, dimmers and our entire rigging system,” he explained.

They won’t need to replace the red carpet and its golden triangles, thanks to the wisdom of the symphony’s late benefactor Henry J. Heinz II.

“Mr. Heinz had the great foresight to actually buy enough carpet to do this hall twice, so it lived in our storage room for 25 years before it was put down in 1995,” Mancusso said.

Heinz Hall will be closed through mid-September.

RELATED LINKS
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

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