Bethel Woods is a go

Politicians laud the “gift to the county and region”

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — The crowd at the Bethel Woods ribbon-cutting ceremony was packed with state and local politicians and business people. They gathered in two brand spanking new market sheds on grounds of the performance venue. With the sun sparkling on the new copper roof of other new buildings in the background, the speakers heaped praise on the visionary behind the project, Alan Gerry.

Senator John Bonacic thanked Gerry for what he called a “gift to Sullivan County, the region and the state.” He said the facility came out looking better than the early renderings and that never happens.

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther also thanked him for the “wonderful gift.”

Congressman Maurice Hinchey said the new facility with its state-of-the-art-outdoor amphitheater will “elevate the entire culture of our region.”

Gerry told the crowd that he originally planned to have the ribbon cutting at the opening, but his wife Sandra told him, “you’re always cutting things too close,” and convinced him to move it forward a couple of weeks.” Gerry thanked his supporters for “giving me the right to be crazy enough to do this.”

Making the sound

Gary Sommers, the former mayor of Monticello, is the president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 353, which helped build the band shell and sound system. He said everything that relates to sound has been “top notch.”

The firm JaffeHolden of Norwalk, CT and Santa Monica, CA designed the pavilion and orchestral shell. Mark Holden, chairman of the company said, “Most pavilions can only do one thing well. Either they’re designed for rock and have no acoustic shell for symphonic music, or they are designed for symphonic music, like Wolf Trap, and are too live for rock.” Bethel Woods demanded a space that could serve both needs.

The Bethel Woods acoustical concert shell consists of 10 wooden towers that can be folded and wheeled away for storage and four wooden ceiling pieces flown above the stage.

The ceiling panels are adjustable in both height and angle via a rigging system.

Holden said the panels and towers would be in place for performances such as the New York Philharmonic and others, such as Wynton Marsalis or acts that want an “unplugged” sound.

For amplified music at rock concerts, the wooden towers will be removed and stored. The walls and ceiling of the stage are designed to absorb the echoes and other sounds that can hurt a rock performance.

On June 21, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra will play a “hard-hat” rehearsal concert that will allow the JaffeHolden team to adjust both the pavilion and lawn sound systems for the New York Philharmonic gala opening.