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San Diego Symphony
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Regarded today as one of the finest classical music venues on the West Coast, Copley Symphony Hall originally was built in 1929 as a luxury movie palace. According to the San Diego Symphony’s web site, “(The hall) is one of the few venues in the world that belongs to the orchestra playing in it. It has proved to be a gem and a pleasure to sit in to hear great music performed superbly.”Now an octogenarian, the French Rococo-style building requires occasional retrofitting and remodeling to retain its aesthetic and historic integrity and to keep pace with the needs of the modern symphony orchestra. The most recent $3.4 million interior renovations included: upgrading theatrical and house lighting, a new sound system, new orchestra monitoring, and paging system. 5,000 square feet of musicians quarters beneath the stage also received an extensive renovation. The modernized Orchestra Quarters back of house allows the historic design of the hall to be maintained. The extensive lighting upgrade included retrofitting of the mammoth chandelier, recessed lights, decorative ceiling luminaries and wall pendant lamps. A new and brighter light has been shed on the grandeur and ornamentation of the elegant hall with its magnificent vaulted ceiling, elaborate wall murals and arched alcoves. The renovation has greatly improved the visual experience for the hall’s audiences.And while more lights are now being used, the Symphony’s monthly SDG&E bill is staying about the same. The upgrade has decreased energy usage by about 60 percent and increased light output by four times as a result of re-lighting and re-lamping theatrical and house lights with LED and florescent placements, dimming controls, diffusion elements and color corrective gels