Northshore Magazine

145 to produce a building that looks as gor- geous as it sounds. Epstein designed Shalin Liu's warm, earth-toned interior. Set against a backdrop of rosewood and gray-green walls, the space features Douglas fir timber framing, clerestory windows, and balcony railings made of Balsam fir strips woven over steel rods—the pride of an architect who is also a weaver. Epstein lined the lower-level walls of the 43-by 86-foot shoebox-shaped hall with panels of stone, which both services the sound with its irregular surface and pays hom- age to Cape Ann. "When it comes to acoustics, there is one rule," Epstein says. "No parallel sur- faces. Hard, faceted surfaces reflect sound and maintain its energy. To the audience sitting in the hall," she continues, "the small pieces of stone appear the same size as the pieces of Cape Ann granite that they see in the distance." Seeing Cape Ann's rocky shore is the concert hall's dramatic feature. Behind the stage, an 18-foot by 28-foot window of glass looks out to the sea and provides concertgoers with a constantly changing panorama. As they watch the performers, they also see passing boats, children play- ing on the beach, or the play of light on the ocean. At night, when light reflects off the glass surface, or if the view becomes too distracting, three screens slide across the stage to curtain the enormous window. The shutters, which repeat the wood and steel basketweave of the balconies, allow light through in scallops. "We who love music," says Kirkegaard, "like them closed during the perfor- mance and opened during breaks and intermissions. But the view has become a huge hit with audiences," he laughs. "Some of them wear sunglasses during daytime concerts." "The window was optimally designed for an 8 p.m. performance in the summer," says Epstein. "The sun has set, there is no more glare, and the colors are going to blues and purples. It creates a beautiful backdrop for the orange-colored tones of the interior." "There is almost no difference in sound with the panels open or closed," Kirkegaard adds, describing a few of the countless factors that contribute to good acoustics. "The glass wall had to be heavy enough to block out the sounds of foghorns or motorcycles. That thick glaz- ing could have been detrimental to the sound. "But," he says reflectively, "there is no music I've heard in that hall that did not say, 'I'm happy to be here.' The room just smiled." The shoebox shape of the hall, like that of Boston's far bigger Symphony Hall, is op- timal for great acoustics, Kirkegaard says. "That rectangular shape keeps the sound moving around the room," he explains. "When you spread the width around, it's hard to get those strong, chewy reverberations." The Victorian exterior is a replica of the 1860 Haskins building originally on the site. Until Rockport Music bought the building, it had seen years of dimin- ishing use as a retail store. Retaining the traditional appearance was key to getting Great Escape Alan Joslin and Deborah Epstein have collaborated on behalf of Shalin Liu Performance Center since its genesis. photograph by brad mintz April14 Shalin Liu.indd 145 2/21/14 12:01 PM

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