The hallmark of the arts center is the Music Center at Strathmore, a 2,000-seat concert hall that brings world-class performances by major national artists including folk, blues, pop, jazz, show tunes, and classical music. The Music Center at Strathmore serves as the second home for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), providing top-notch acoustics for classical, pops, holiday and summer concerts. The Washington Performing Arts and other world music performance groups perform throughout the year. The Education Center provides rehearsal space and practice rooms for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra, CityDance Ensemble, and the Levine School of Music. The concert hall opened in 2005 and was built on the 11-acre site of the Strathmore Mansion, a 19th-century home which had been owned by Montgomery County since 1981.
- Parking at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro garage (off of Tuckerman Lane) is free for ticketed events in the Music Center’s Concert Hall.
- The property features a 250-seat music venue offering live performances including jazz, rock, folk, indie, and more.
- Built in 1902, the Mansion at Strathmore is home to intimate artistic programs presented by Strathmore including our Music in the Mansion and Artist in Residence concert series.
- After extensive restoration, the Mansion at Strathmore opened its doors to the public on June 24, 1983.
- Hundreds of donors stepped forward to help build, equip and sustain the operation of the Music Center.
In 1985, Strathmore’s Board of Directors and President and CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl began discussions about the need for a larger educational and performance space. In 1996, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of former president John Gidwitz, expressed interest in creating a second home in Montgomery County, and joined Strathmore as a founding partner of the Music Center at Strathmore. The Education Center, located at the opposite end of the building, features four expansive rehearsal spaces, including a dance studio with a sprung floor and two rehearsal rooms with 40-foot (12 m) high ceilings. This wing of the building also features a children’s music classroom, a small two-story rehearsal room and nine solo and small group practice spaces. The concert hall was designed in the traditional “shoebox” form of many international concert halls.
Visual Arts
For more than two decades, the Mansion at Strathmore has provided intimate artistic programs with its 100-seat Dorothy M. And Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room, the Gudelsky Gallery Suite exhibition spaces, the outdoor Gudelsky Concert Pavilion, and outdoor Sculpture Gardens. In March 2015, Strathmore opened an additional performance and event space – AMP by Strathmore within Pike & Rose, the new mixed-use development located about one mile north of the Music Center on Rockville Pike. The property features a 250-seat music venue offering live performances including jazz, rock, folk, indie, and more. Built in 1902, the Mansion at Strathmore is home to intimate artistic programs presented by Strathmore including our Music in the Mansion and Artist in Residence concert series. Visitors can also explore our galleries and current exhibitions, indulge in Afternoon Tea, stroll through the sculpture gardens, and find a special something at the Shop at Strathmore.
Artist in Residence (AIR) Program
Above the stage, a mechanized canopy of 43 individually controlled acrylic panels can be adjusted to fine-tune sound for clarity and reverberation. Tunable sound-absorbing curtains behind the bronze grilling and banners in the ceiling can be deployed out of sight to dampen or enliven the sound. The venue presents over 150 performances a year and over 75 arts and music education classes each week. Today, the organization’s hallmark is the Music Center at Strathmore, with a 1,976-seat concert hall and education complex that debuted in 2005. In 1996, the Mansion closed for a $3.2 million renovation that created the Gudelsky Gallery Suite, and a 4-story addition that houses the Lockheed Martin Conference Room, an expanded Shop at Strathmore, and new administrative offices.
After Charles’ passing in 1926, Hattie Corby remained in the residence until she passed away in 1941. More than 5,000 artists and 2 million visitors have attended exhibitions, concerts, teas, educational events and outdoor festivals since 1983. The complex is thus accessible for patrons coming from Washington, D.C., as well as the northern part of Montgomery County, Maryland via the Metro rail system. In 1979, Montgomery County, Maryland acquired the Mansion and 11 acres of land from ASHA. The house was renamed Strathmore Hall, after the newly established nonprofit, and the Mansion with its surrounding grounds were developed as Montgomery County’s first center for the arts.
Location and Parking
As shown on an 1879 map, local landowner Frank Ball operated a stagecoach station and blacksmith shop on his farm at this location. The Mansion at Strathmore is home to intimate Review Review Victory Programs artistic programs presented by Strathmore. Strathmore is dedicated to creating a vibrant arts community that welcomes everyone. In 2016, Strathmore formalized it’s commitment to ensuring access to the arts with the Bloom initiative.
Located on the Bou Family Terrace, “Tetra Con Brio,” a monumental sculpture of cast bronze, steel, and polished concrete, stands 12 feet (3.7 m) tall and weighs 4,500 pounds. In 1998, the Montgomery County Council and the Maryland State Legislature approved matching capital support ($48 million each) for the Music Center at Strathmore. After the design team was selected in 2001, work began under the direction of the county. The Music Center at Strathmore and the Strathmore Mansion are located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane in North Bethesda, Maryland, just off of the Capital Beltway and adjacent to the Grosvenor/Strathmore stop on the Washington, DC Metro’s Red Line.
In addition to exterior improvements, the renovation saw the addition of a sculpture garden, which features pieces along a path winding through 11 acres of landscaped grounds. Strathmore quickly established itself as an important new cultural resource—not just for Montgomery County, but for the entire Metro DC region. The Mansion was bustling with energy and many of Strathmore’s most enduring offerings—including intimate concerts in the Music Room, Afternoon Tea, visual arts exhibitions, and wedding venue—began during this time. Ownership and usage of the land is not well-known until 1823 when a toll road was built to connect Georgetown and Frederick. One of the road’s tollgates was near the intersection now known as Strathmore Avenue.
In 1977, the Sisters of the Holy Cross sold the mansion to the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) as a temporary headquarters. On June 21, 1983, after major restoration of the facility, Strathmore opened its doors to the public. The soothing sounds of local musicians fill the room as you enjoy Afternoon Tea in a cozy atmosphere. Strathmore is a premier art institution of the region, hosting more than two dozen exhibitions a year. Strathmore is an unincorporated, Levitt & Sons-developed hamlet in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States, within the census-designated place (CDP) of Manhasset. Our website works best with the latest version of the browsers below, unfortunately your browser is not supported.
