Orpheum Performing Arts Center Hosts Ribbon Cutting and Groundbreaking

Technical Upgrades, Energy Efficiencies and New Orpheum Studios 

Hunter -  Catskill Mountain Foundation announces a ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, October 17 at 1:00 PM at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center in Tannersville, NY. Local dignitaries and friends of the arts are invited to share in this celebration of the completion of the first phase of the project, which includes theater technical upgrades and design and engineering for the new dance studios. After the ribbon cutting and welcome by Peter and Sarah Finn, project manager Jean-Claude Alten will provide a short presentation of the theater’s technical upgrades and then all will convene outside where the ground will be broken for the new dance studios. This event offers an opportunity to acknowledge local and state commitment to the Village of Tannersville through the expansion of arts and educational programming.

As part of Tannersville’s Downtown Strategic Investment Plan, Catskill Mountain Foundation was awarded $1,750,000 through the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) to expand and upgrade the Orpheum Performing Arts Center. By upgrading the theater, constructing the new dance studios and making the streetscape and accessibility improvements, Catskill Mountain Foundation is able to expand its annual performing arts season and educational programs. 

Contractors, including project manager Jean-Claude Alten; Theater Projects, Metropolitan Interactive, Ltd.; Syracuse Scenery & Stage Lighting Co., Inc.; Hudson Valley Electrical Construction Management Inc.; LaBella Associates; and Termobuild/Laken & Associates, Inc., completed this first phase of the project, successfully upgrading the Orpheum’s technical capabilities and completing the design/engineering for the new building, Orpheum Studios. 

The new dance studio is also supported through the Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development program, now known as the Building Cleaner Communities Competition administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) which will help Orpheum Studios achieve emissions free performance, through innovative building strategies and equipment designed for superior energy efficiency. 

These building systems work together to deliver energy performance far beyond the sum of its parts. Key features include Termobuild Smart Floors, combining heating, cooling, ventilation and energy storage in one system, reducing the overall power requirement. A geothermal heating and cooling system uses the inground stored energy and electricity, requiring no combustion of fossil fuels. Other high performing elements to the project include energy efficient walls, windows, doors and lighting, as well as rooftop solar panels.

The Orpheum Performing Arts Center is a destination in the Village of Tannersville, at the center of the village’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative boundary. The construction of the new two-floor, state-of-the-art dance studio, with a fully ADA compliant first floor provides a comfortable, safe and reliable space that strengthens community connectivity. Aligned with the town’s goals of reducing environmental impacts, the project will be a clean and resilient emissions free model to further the facilities’ ability to reduce greenhouse emissions. The project is aspiring for Green Globes Certification and net zero energy performance.

The Orpheum Performing Arts Center is located at 6050 Main Street, Tannersville, NY. For more information, please visit www.catskillmtn.org. RSVP by October 14 to morseh@catskillmtn.org .

About Catskill Mountain Foundation
The Catskill Mountain Foundation’s (CMF) aim is to provide educational opportunities in the arts for youth and lifelong learners, to bring the experience of the arts to the Catskill community, and to support artists and art organizations in the development of their work through residencies. Since its founding in 1998, CMF has presented hundreds of music, dance, and theater performances; screened over 1,000 films to tens of thousands of audience members; provided studio arts classes to thousands of students of all ages; and served thousands of art-loving patrons in the Catskill Mountain Foundation Gift Shop. The Catskill Mountain Foundation operates the Doctorow Center for the Arts in Hunter, the Orpheum Performing Arts Center in Tannersville, and the Sugar Maples Center for Creative Arts in Maplecrest, NY.

Since 1998, CMF has raised, generated, and invested close to $16 million in facility development and an excess of $42 million in programming operations, for a total investment in the Catskill community of over $58 million. Catskill Mountain Foundation is supported in part by New York State Council on the Arts, the Greene County Cultural Fund administered by the Greene County Legislature, The Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation, The Royce Family Foundation, The Samuel and Esther Doctorow Fund, The Orville and Ethel Slutzky Family Foundation, Platte Clove Bruderhof Community, Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation, The Greene County Youth Bureau, Marshall & Sterling Insurance, All Souls’ Church, Stewarts Shops, Windham Foundation, and by private donations. CMF believes that the arts can transform the lives of those touched by it and can transform the community. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.