Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Final concert set before Stevens Center closes for renovations

A landmark theater in Winston-Salem is about to close for a long-anticipated upgrade. The Stevens Center will host a final performance on Friday before renovations are set to begin.

The Stevens Center opened in 1929 as a silent movie theater and was once named the Carolina Theater. Following an initial renovation, it was renamed for theater producer Roger L. Stevens, and a grand reopening in 1983 featured conductor Leonard Bernstein and violinist Isaac Stern.

It has since become the primary performance space for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, as well as a hub for local arts organizations including The Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Opera, and the National Black Theatre Festival.

Much of the funding for renovations has come from state appropriations and private funding.

The overhaul will include a lobby makeover, building enhancements, and technological improvements.

UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole says the evolution of this historic theater mirrors Winston-Salem’s metamorphosis into the City of Arts and Innovation.

"You go back into the history of the Stevens Center, and like 1956, Elvis Presley performed there on his first tour," says Cole. "I hope that 50 years from now, we'll be talking about other artists that were beginning their careers and beginning this whole period of creativity."

The final concert on Friday night will feature the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra conducted by alumnus Robert Franz. The building will close on November 15 for construction, and likely will not reopen for several years.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate